Introduction

It is truly proper to glorify you, who have borne God, the Ever-blessed, Immaculate, and the Mother of our God. More honorable then the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who, a virgin, gave birth to God the Word, you, truly the Mother of God, we magnify. (1)

Our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter, Orientale Lumen, speaks of the light of Christ, which shone first in the East. He reminds us that the Eastern Churches continue to illumine the world today, and it is important to appreciate and retain the fullness of the Catholic Church’s rich Eastern heritage. One of the most brilliant rays of light from the Eastern Church shines from the honor and love given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom they refer to as “Theotokos,” or “God-Bearer.” Within the Eastern liturgy and iconography, one finds clearly set forth all the truths about the Blessed Mother’s roles as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate, and a clear explanation of why She is given the special praise of hyperdulia above all other created beings.

A closer look at the Divine Office of the Eastern Church, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the Akathist Hymn, and Church iconography will provide abundant evidence of how the Eastern Church honors the Holy Theotokos, and enables her to fill the Church with the light of Christ.

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is very well known and common in the Eastern Churches today, both those in union with Rome and those that are not. St. John Chrysostom (345-407 AD), Bishop of Constantinople and an eloquent preacher and Father of the Church, formulated this liturgy, which probably received its present form after the ninth century. The liturgical prayers of the East have nourished the Christian Church throughout the centuries in their understanding and love for the Mother of God. Since we express our beliefs within our prayers (lex orandi lex est credendi), one must look to the liturgical prayers of the Byzantine Rite in order to understand the Eastern Church’s beliefs regarding the Holy Mother of God. These liturgical prayers make clear that Mary is honored in the Eastern Churches as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate for the people of God.

The Divine Office of the East

Throughout the Eastern Church Divine Office, the Blessed Mother is spoken of in terms of Old Testament references, showing Her divine fore-ordination to be the Mother of God and how the history of salvation culminates in Her. Thus, in the matins prayers for the Birth of the Holy Theotokos, the Church sings:

The bush on the mountain that was not consumed by fire, and the Chaldean furnace that brought refreshment as the dew, plainly prefigured thee, O Bride of God. For in a material womb, unconsumed thou hast received the divine and immaterial fire.

Again, in the matins prayers for the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos the Church links the Blessed Mother to Old Testament images, singing:

Let us praise in faith Mary the Child of God, whom long ago the assembly of prophets foretold, speaking of her as jar of manna and Aaron’s rod, tablet of the Law and uncut mountain.

In addition, the prophecies of David in the psalms are seen as fulfilled by Mary’s entry into the temple, for the Church sings:

Let David prophecy, who said in the spirit: “virgins shall be brought after thee; they shall be brought into the temple to the queen and Mother.” (2)

Furthermore, the Church sings of St. Ann, regarding the Blessed Mother’s fore-ordination:

Today Ann the Barren gives birth to the Child of God, foreordained from all generations to be the habitation of the King of all and Maker, Christ our God, in fulfillment of the divine dispensation. (3)

Immaculate Conception

The Divine Office goes on to set forth the truth that the Blessed Mother’s freedom from the stain of sin from the time of her conception enables Her to take part in the redemption of mankind. Because She is Immaculate, She is able to reverse the curse of Eden and take part in the salvation of all. In Her a new Eve is born, who, through Her obedience, reverses the curse brought about by Eve’s disobedience. For the Feast of the Birth of the Holy Theotokos, the Church sings:

O Adam and Eve . . . rejoice with us today: for if by your transgression ye closed the gate of Paradise to those of old, we have now been given a glorious fruit, Mary the Child of God, who opens its entrance to us all. (4)

She is further extolled for reversing the curse of Eden in these words:

She is the restoration of Adam and the recalling of Eve, the fountain of incorruption and the release from corruption: through her we have been made godlike and delivered from death. (5)

The Church recognizes that while Eve’s sin brought death, the Immaculate Mother’s obedience brings life and deliverance, and thus Eve rejoices in her own salvation and the restoration of all which comes through her offspring. In the words of Eve from the Great Vespers of The Birth of the Holy Theotokos: “Unto me is born deliverance, through which I shall be set free from the bonds of hell.” Further extolling this mystery the Church sings:

Adam is set free and Eve dances for joy, and in spirit they cry aloud to thee, O Theotokos: “By thee, through Christ’s appearance, we have been delivered from Adam’s ancient curse.” (6)

The Blessed Mother is clearly seen in the Divine Office of the Eastern Church as the pure and undefiled one, who “alone among women is pure and blessed” and thus is able to give flesh to the God-man. (7) At Her birth the Church rejoices that a worthy vessel for the Word has been born:

In thee, O Undefiled, is the mystery of the Trinity praised and glorified. For the Father was well pleased with thee, and in thee the Word made His tabernacle among us, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed thee. (8)

Gabriel’s words at the Annunciation also clearly set forth the Blessed Mother as the Immaculate One. The archangel greets Her as, “O all-holy Lady, utterly without spot.” (9)

Within the Divine Office, the Church affirms the Blessed Mother’s freedom of choice, demonstrating that She was not a passive vessel, but an active participant, who cooperated, out of freedom, in God’s saving work. This is made clear within the Divine Office of the Annunciation in the form of a conversation between Mary and Gabriel, in which:

Mary’s doubts are set forth with the utmost directness, we see all her incredulity and her embarrassment; and this is done in order to make clear that she acted in full freedom, consciously and deliberately accepting the will of God. When, on this and other feasts, the . . . Church shows honor to the Mother of God, it is not just because God chose her but also because she herself chose aright. (10)

Mary Co-Redemptrix

In addition to glorifying the Immaculate One’s freedom from sin, the Divine Office of the Eastern Church also sets forth her special bond with Christ and her Co-Redemptive role of suffering with Her Son, which provides the basis for Her further roles as Mediatrix of all grace and Advocate. One beautiful aspect of the Office that identifies Mary with the redemptive role of Her Son is seen in the Feast of the Entry of the Holy Theotokos into the temple. Just as She and Joseph would later offer the infant Jesus in the temple, Mary’s parents brought Her to the temple as a young child, making clear the fact that She, like Christ, was immolated to God for the plan of salvation. Thus the Church sings:

Having received the fruit of the promise come from the Lord, today in the temple Joachim and Ann offered the Mother of God as an acceptable sacrifice; and Zacharias the great High Priest received her with his blessing. Into the holy places the Holy of Holies is fittingly brought to dwell, as a sacrifice acceptable to God. (11)

The Church also shows us the unique and intimate bond between Christ and Mary, which justifies Her role as Co-Redemptrix, in the fact that She gives Jesus His most Holy Body; the Church sings:

From thy virgin womb the Light that was before the sun, even God who has come forth upon us, took flesh ineffably, coming to dwell among us in the body. Thee, then, O blessed and all-holy Theotokos, do we magnify. (12)

Many other aspects of Mary’s intimate sharing in the sufferings of Christ throughout His earthly life are highlighted in the Divine Office, making clear the understanding that She participated in a unique way with Christ in His saving work for the salvation of men. The Church honors the suffering She underwent in the flight to Egypt, putting these words into the mouth of the Mother: “O Son . . . as I behold thee fleeing from Herod with his sword of sorrow, I am torn in soul. But do Thou live and save those that honor Thee.” (13)

Additionally, the Church sets forth Her Co-Redemptive role when it lauds Her co-suffering at the Passion, showing the depth of Her suffering with Jesus, suffering in a way that only a Mother could. The Church sings:

When the pure Virgin, His Mother, beheld Him upon the Cross, she cried out in pain: “Woe is me, my Child: why hast Thou done this? Thou, whose beauty was fairer than that of all mortal men, dost appear without life and form, having neither shape nor comeliness. Woe is me, O my Light. I cannot bear to look upon Thee sleeping, and I am wounded in my innermost self, a harsh sword pierces my heart.” (14)

Clearly, the liturgy shows the Eastern Church’s understanding of the Blessed Mother’s most intimate sharing in the sufferings of Her Son, and thus Her unique cooperation in His Redemptive work, which merits Her the title of Co-Redemptrix.

Mary Mediatrix and Advocate

The Mother’s ongoing role as Mediatrix of all grace and Advocate for all people is also set forth within the Byzantine liturgy as the Church recognizes that She was given at Calvary to John and to all the children of God as a Mother, and that She is now in heaven with Jesus where Her motherly care continues. In the liturgy of the Dormition the Church plainly shows the belief that She is taken up to heaven where She continues Her powerful role of intercession for the redemption of Her children. While the Roman Catholic Church calls this event the Assumption of Mary, the Eastern Church entitles this Her “Dormition.” The Church tells of Her place at the right hand of Her Son where She intercedes for us. Calling Her the “Gate of God” and the “Palace of the King,” the Church sings of Her Who, even in death, did not know corruption, and was taken straight to heaven:

What songs filled with awe did all the apostles of the Word then offer thee, O Virgin, as they stood round thy deathbed and cried aloud in wonder: “The Palace of the King withdraws; the Ark of holiness is raised on high. Let the gates be opened wide that the Gate of God may enter into abundant joy, she who asks without ceasing for great mercy on the world.” (15)

Within the liturgical text the Church manifestly sees that the Blessed Mother is now with Her Son, where She is able to intercede most effectively on our behalf. The Church asks for the powerful prayers of She Who dwells with Her Son:

Therefore, O most pure Theotokos, who livest for ever with thy Son, the King who brings life, pray without ceasing that thy newborn people be guarded on every side and saved from all adverse assault; for we are under thy protection. (16)

Again and again throughout the liturgy, the Church recognizes the significance of Her being taken up into heaven, and that in Her role as Advocate, the Blessed Mother continues to pray for Her children without ceasing:

O pure and most holy Virgin, the multitude of angels in heaven and mankind on earth extol and venerate thy Dormition; for thou art the Mother of Christ, our God and the Creator of all. Never cease, we entreat thee, to intercede with Him on our behalf; for next to God we have put our hope in thee, O far-famed and unwedded Theotokos. (17)

The Church sings of the saving power of Her prayers from Her place in heaven:

In giving birth, O Theotokos, thou hast retained thy virginity, and in falling asleep thou hast not forsaken the world. Thou who art the Mother of Life hast passed over into life, and by thy prayers thou dost deliver our souls from death. (18)

Once again the Church, after Her Dormition, emphasizes her role as Advocate in heaven, pleading for us, and as Mediatrix of all grace, pouring out salvation for the faithful:

Come, O ye faithful, let us approach the tomb of the Mother of God, and let us embrace it, touching it sincerely with the lips and eyes and foreheads of the heart. Let us draw abundant gifts of healing grace from this ever-flowing fount. (19)

In another beautiful prayer from the Office of the Feast of the Dormition, the Church asks that She, who now reigns with Her Son and continues Her cooperative work with Christ in our salvation, pray for us. The Church on earth echoes the prayers of the apostles, singing: “As thou departest to the heavenly mansions unto thy Son, do thou ever save thine inheritance.” (20)

In addition to describing Her roles of Advocate and Mediatrix, the Church also uses these specific titles within the liturgy. For example, as Mary enters the temple herself as a young child, the Church cries:

Make this feast to be held in honor throughout all the world by those who cry: The Theotokos is come among us, mediator of salvation. (21)

Again she is hailed as Mediatrix in the Liturgy for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the seventh Ecumenical Council:

O gentle Protectress of Christians, unfailing Mediatrix before the Creator, do not despise the prayerful voices of sinners; but in your goodness hasten to assist those who cry out to you; “Inspire us to prayer, and hasten to hear our supplication, intercede always, Mother of God, in behalf of those who honor you.”

Once again, a specific title is used when Mary is called Advocate in the liturgy for the deceased: “We have in You a defense and a refuge and an advocate acceptable to God to Whom you gave birth, O Virgin Mother of God, the salvation of the faithful.” (22)

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God

In addition to the abundance of liturgical evidence of the honor that the Eastern Church gives to Our Lady as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate, evidence of the Eastern Church’s recognition of Her unique roles can also be found in the Eastern Church hymn to the Mother of God, known as the Akathist Hymn. This hymn contains abundant examples of the Eastern Church’s praises of Mary for Her unique participation in the work of Her Son. While the hymn does not use the explicit titles of Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate, the fact that She is honored for these roles is clear. As Luigi Gambero states in his description of the Akathist hymn: “The Akathist is a convincing example of how the theology of the Greek Fathers could create titles indicative of fervid admiration for the divine mystery, in which Mary was involved in a unique way.” (23) This beautiful hymn serves as another shining example of the Eastern Church’s beliefs regarding the Holy Theotokos, once again relying on the principle, lex orandi est lex credendi (what we pray is what we believe). Truly, the words that the Church prays set forth the beliefs of the Church; the prayer of the Akathist clearly shows us the Eastern Church’s belief in Mary as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.

Looking more closely at the descriptions used in the Akathist clearly shows the Blessed Mother’s various roles. Within the text of the Akathist She is set forth as the Co-Redemptrix, worthy to take part in an intimate and unique way in the Redemptive work of Her Son. Due to the extraordinary union She achieved with God through the Incarnation, based on Her Immaculate Conception, She is able to take part in reversing the curse of Adam and Eve and suffering all with Her Son to become the Co-Redemptrix, and thus the joy of our race. Let us look at some of the lines within the hymn in which She is praised for Her Co-Redemptive role:

Hail, O Restoration of the fallen Adam (first chant)
Hail, O Redemption of the tears of Eve (first chant)
Hail, O you through whom creation is renewed (first chant)
Hail, O you through whom the Creator becomes a Babe (first chant)
Hail, Expiation of the whole universe (third chant)
Hail, O you through whom death was despoiled (fourth chant)
Hail, O you who unthroned the enemy of men (fifth chant)
Hail, O you who cleansed us from the stain of pagan worship (fifth chant)
Hail, O you who saved us from the mire of evil deeds (fifth chant)
Hail, O Resurrection of mankind (sixth chant)
Hail, O Downfall of the demons (sixth chant)
Hail, O you through whom transgression was erased (eighth chant)
Hail, O you through whom paradise was opened (eighth chant)
Hail, O Retriever from the abyss of ignorance (ninth chant)
Hail, O Ship for those who seek salvation (ninth chant)
Hail, O you who erased the stain of sin (eleventh chant)
Hail, O you through whom the enemies are routed (twelfth chant)
Hail, O Healing of my body (twelfth chant)
Hail, O Salvation of my soul (twelfth chant)

In addition to the lines within the Akathist that set forth the Blessed Mother’s Co-Redemptive role, we also see many lines that show Her role as Mediatrix of all graces. The lines of the hymn make it clear that the Church sees the Blessed Virgin Mary as enthroned with Her Son in heaven, where She dispenses to us all the graces that we need. For example, She is depicted as a “holy Vessel,” and a “fruitful Tree,” in order to show that She is the one from whom all the graces of heaven come down to believers. We can see Her role as Mediatrix of all graces set forth in the following lines of the Akathist:

Hail, celestial Ladder by whom God came down (second chant)
Hail, O you who enlighten faithful minds (second chant)
Hail, O you through whom we were clothed with glory (fourth chant)
Hail, O Rock who quenched those who thirst for life (sixth chant)
Hail, O Pillar of fire who guided those in darkness (sixth chant)
Hail, O fruitful Tree from whom believers feed (seventh chant)
Hail, O Message unsure to men without faith (eighth chant)
Hail, O Dispenser of God’s bounties (tenth chant)
Hail, O you who gave sense to those who had lost it (tenth chant)
Hail, O Beam of the mystical Sun (eleventh chant)
Hail, holy Vessel overflowing with joy (eleventh chant)

The Akathist also describes the Blessed Mother’s role as Advocate. The hymn beautifully describes how the Holy Theotokos receives all of the Church’s prayers and continues to intercede for the Church unceasingly before the throne of God. Because it is through Her advocacy that believers enter heaven, She is called such titles as the Door, the Key, the Voice, and the Hope of the Church. Her intercessory role as Advocate is made evident within the following lines of the hymn:

Hail, O Bridge leading earthly ones to heaven (second chant)
Hail, O Trust of mortals before God (third chant)
Hail, O Key to the doors of Paradise (fourth chant)
Hail, O you who guide the faithful toward Wisdom (fifth chant)
Hail, O you who unsettled even the just judge (seventh chant)
Hail, O Stole for those who lack freedom to speak (seventh chant)
Hail, O Gate of the sublime Mystery (eighth chant)
Hail, O Key to the Kingdom of Christ (eighth chant)
Hail, O Hope for the ages of bliss (eighth chant)
Hail, O Gateway of salvation (tenth chant)
Hail, O you who join the faithful with God (tenth chant)

While scholars suggest several different authors of the Akathist, including George of Pisidia, Germanus of Constantinople, Sergius of Constantinople, and Romanos the Melodist, these names remain hypotheses. The most recent studies date the composition of the hymn to the late fifth or early sixth century. Regardless of the identity of the author, Luigi Gambero notes, one can agree with the conclusion of Father Ermanno Toniolo, from his book, Acatisto: Canto di lode a Maria, fonte di luce, when he states:

Undoubtedly, its author was a great poet, an outstanding theologian, a consummate contemplative; he was great enough to be able to translate the Church’s faith into a prayerful synthesis, yet humble enough to disappear into anonymity. God knows his name; the world does not. It is just as well; in this way, the hymn belongs to everyone, because it belongs to the Church. (24)

That the Catholic Church clearly embraces the beliefs set forth in this hymn to the Mother of God is clear from the plenary indulgence the Church grants to all Catholics who pray the Akathist to the Mother of God and fulfill the other requirements for a plenary indulgence.

The Theotokos in Iconography

In addition to the praise that the Eastern Church gives to the Blessed Mother through sacred hymns, the Church also praises and venerates the Holy Theotokos through the use of icons. The icon expresses the glorious truths of Our Lady without using words, in a way that reaches not only the head, but also the heart of the believer. Iconography in the Eastern Church sets forth the Church’s beliefs about Our Lady, and at the same time expresses the love and devotion the Church feels for the Mother Who is our Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate before God. Let us look at specific icons to learn the truths of the Blessed Mother which are set forth in these images.

The Annunciation Icon

Details of this icon are drawn from the Gospel of St. Luke, and from the Protoevangelium of James. In this account we are told of the meaning of the thread and spindle which Mary holds in almost every icon of the Annunciation:

we are . . . told that at the time of the Annunciation Mary was engaged in drawing out purple thread that was to be used for making a veil for the Temple. This latter detail is almost always included in icons of the Annunciation, often with the thread falling away to the ground: Mary turns away from the external work with the thread for a veil in the Jerusalem Temple, to attend to the vocation to become the temple and dwelling place of the Incarnate Lord. (25)

This detail of the thread points out the truth that Mary is the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament Temple.

The posture of the Blessed Mother represents a questioning of the angel’s message, but also a free choice and willingness to cooperate in God’s plan of salvation. Once again, by Her free choice to obey, the Blessed Mother can be seen as the New Eve who reverses Eve’s disobedience and brings the New Adam into the world. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, overshadowing the Virgin, depicts the truth of the Virgin birth of Christ and Mary’s role as Spouse of the Holy Spirit.

The Nativity Icon

The icon of the Nativity of Christ sets forth for believers several truths about the Blessed Virgin Mary. Throughout the Eastern Church, this icon is brought out in the Christmas season, and worshippers who pray in front of the image learn the truths about the Blessed Virgin Mary as they gaze on the details of this scene. At the center of the icon is the Blessed Mother, set forth as the New Eve and the Mother of the new creation born through Her Divine Son. As one author tells us: “The Virgin Mother lies in the centre of the icon, as the second Eve. Just as the first Eve was the ‘mother of all living’ (Gen 3:20), so the Virgin Mother of God is the Mother of the new humanity restored and deified through the Incarnation of the Eternal Son.” (26)

Below the Mother, two midwives wash and care for the newborn infant Jesus: “their function in the icon is to stress the true humanity of the Incarnate God, against the heretical teaching that Christ only appeared to be human.” (27) In the lower left corner of the icon, Saint Joseph sits with a troubled expression on his face, and the Blessed Mother is turned toward him with solicitude. Here is set forth the doctrine of the Virgin birth of Christ, for Joseph looks troubled, as “one who is not the father of the child, and who represents those who cannot comprehend the wonder of this event which is beyond the natural order of things.” (28) Mary’s maternal care is shown by the fact that, “the face of the Virgin is turned towards Joseph—a symbol of compassion for those beset by doubts and difficulties in believing.” (29)

Thus, we have within the Nativity icon, the doctrine of Mary as the New Eve and Mother of the new humanity, an affirmation of the true humanity of Christ, the true virginity of the Blessed Mother, and the role of Mary as the compassionate Mother of those in trial.

The Presentation Icon

In the icon of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is set forth a seed of the Blessed Mother’s role as Co-Redemptrix, for She offers the infant Messiah to the Lord, and into the hands of Simeon, a “representative of the old covenant community of Israel,” (30) reminding us that “the Mother of God offers Her Son to all who will receive Him with faith and love—those very qualities expressed in the outstretched arms of Simeon as he receives the Christ child.” (31) The Blessed Mother, aware of the future sufferings of the Son, nonetheless obediently brings Him to the Temple, showing Her readiness to cooperate in God’s saving plan, even at the cost of Her own suffering and sacrifice. Believers who pray before this icon can meditate on the Co-Redemptrix’s self-sacrificing cooperation in God’s work of salvation, springing forth from Her love of God and love for all the spiritual children who will be born to Her through Her Son’s saving work.

The Mother of God of the Way Icon

There are various depictions of the Blessed Mother holding the Christ Child. The “Hodogitria” is the name given to the style of icon in which “the right hand of the Virgin points to the Incarnate Son of God who sits enthroned on her left arm, facing out from the icon with a scroll in his left hand and the right hand raised in blessing.” (32) This icon shows little tenderness between Mother and Child, for Christ is portrayed as “pre-eternal God and incarnate Wisdom who has come into the world, and who has the divine authority to bless and instruct,” (33) while the Mother shows us the way, pointing away from Herself and toward Her Son. The fact that Mary is seen with Her Divine Child as the “Theotokos” stresses “the reality of the Incarnation: the divinity as well as the humanity of the Incarnate Son.” (34) While this icon portrays these truths about the Incarnation, it also expresses the truth that the Blessed Mother stands as a “symbol and type of the Church and the Christian vocation: to point away from self to Christ, and yet to have an inner awareness of his presence in ourselves through the life of prayer and worship.” (35)

Mother of God of the Passion Icon

In this icon, the Blessed Mother holds the Christ Child, while in the upper corners are two angels who are holding the instruments of the Passion of the Lord. The Christ Child looks up at one of the angels, and the “expression of the Mother and Child show that they are well aware of the meaning of the instruments.” (36) Also known as “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” this icon sets forth Our Lady’s role as Co-Redemptrix, suffering with Her Son in His Passion for the Redemption of mankind. We see the immensity of Our Lady’s suffering in the fact that Our Lady realized the future sufferings of Her Son even from the time of His birth.

Eastern Church iconography shows the exalted role of the Mother of God, and history bears witness to the devotion which believers from the Eastern Church give to the Holy Virgin. A short story from one Russian Orthodox writer during World War I exemplifies the love that the people show to the Blessed Mother through iconography, and the fact that She carries out the roles of Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate for the people:

In late August, prayer services for a victorious end to the war were held throughout the country. Under the impact of anxiety, the attendance in our village was unusually large and the mood of the congregation very fervent . . . . The church was crammed. Everyone joined in singing the prayer to the Holy Virgin. At the words, “We have no other recourse, no other hope,” many wept, and the whole crowd prostrated itself at the Virgin’s feet. I had never before heard a large congregation put so much feeling into these words. All these peasants had seen the refugees and were thinking of their own possible destitution, death from famine, the horrors of winter flight. No doubt they felt that without the Virgin’s protection they would surely perish. (37)

After looking at the liturgy, devotion, and iconography of the Eastern Church, the strong faith and love of the Eastern Church for the Holy Mother of God in her roles as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate become clear. Even when these titles for Mary are not explicitly used, the words of the Divine Liturgy and the Divine Office make it obvious that the Eastern Church understands that Mary fulfills the roles of participating with Her Son in our redemption (Co-Redemptrix), mediating all graces to God’s children (Mediatrix), and praying for us unceasingly from Her exalted place in heaven (Advocate). In addition, the iconography of the East makes clear the doctrines of Our Lady, and allows believers to meditate upon the truths of Her exalted roles.

Just as Mary serves as a bridge between Her Son and the world, she can also serve as a strong unifying factor between the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches. Our late Holy Father, John Paul II, the Totus Tuus Pope, recognized the heartfelt devotion of the Eastern Churches to Our Lady, and saw Her as a key to unity between the East and the West. Our beloved John Paul II spoke of his joy at the Eastern Church’s expressions of love for Mary through their liturgy and devotions in his encyclical, Redemptoris Mater. He summarizes the importance of the Eastern Churches in the development of Church dogma, and the unity that can come about within the Church through our common praise of Our Lady:

I wish to emphasize how profoundly the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and the ancient Churches of the East feel united by love and praise of the Theotokos. Not only “basic dogmas of the Christian faith concerning the Trinity and God’s Word made flesh of the Virgin Mary were defined in Ecumenical Councils held in the East,” but also in their liturgical worship “the Orientals pay high tribute, in very beautiful hymns, to Mary ever Virgin . . . God’s Most Holy Mother” . . . . Such a wealth of praise, built up by the different forms of the Church’s great tradition, could help us to hasten the day when the Church can begin once more to breathe fully with her “two lungs,” the East and the West. As I have often said, this is more than ever necessary today.

As many theologians have pointed out with regards to the formal definition of the Fifth Marian Dogma, Mary Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate, the nature of truth is to heal, rather than separate. Clearly the Eastern Churches already have the truths of Mary deeply embedded within their minds and hearts, as can be seen from a closer study of their liturgy and devotions. Thus, the Eastern Churches can lend support for the definition of the Fifth Marian Dogma. And, in return, the definition of the Dogma will help to draw together the Eastern and Western Churches as we recognize the unity of our beliefs regarding the Most Holy Theotokos. May She once again bear for the Church the light of truth so that the East and West can recognize the truth of our unity.

Notes

(1) Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

(2) Matins, Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos.

(3) Great Vespers, The Birth of the Holy Theotokos.

(4) Ibid.

(5) Ibid.

(6) Matins, The Birth of the Holy Theotokos.

(7) Great Vespers, Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos.

(8) Matins, The Birth of the Holy Theotokos.

(9) Great Vespers, Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos.

(10) Ware, Archimandrite Kallistos, The Festal Menaion, London: Faber, 1969, 61.

(11) Small Vespers, The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.

(12) Matins, The Birth of Our Most Holy Lady.

(13) Compline, The Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ.

(14) Matins, The Universal Exaltation.

(15) Small Vespers, The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.

(16) Great Vespers, Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady.

(17) Ibid.

(18) Ibid.

(19) Matins, Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady.

(20) Ibid.

(21) Matins, Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos.

(22) Bohorodicen, Liturgy for the Deceased.

(23) Gambero, Luigi, Mary and the Fathers of the Church, San Francisco: Ignatius, 1999, 341.

(24) Ibid., 338.

(25) Baggley, John, Doors of Perception: icons and their spiritual significance, Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1988, 128.

(26) Ibid., 142.

(27) Loc.cit.

(28) Loc.cit.

(29) Loc.cit.

(30) Ibid., 126

(31) Loc.cit.

(32) Ibid., 106.

(33) Loc.cit.

(34) Loc.cit.

(35) Loc.cit.

(36) Popp, Bishop Nathaniel, Holy Icons, Jackson, MI: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, 1969, 27.

(37) Trubetskoi, Eugene, Icons: Theology in Color, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1973, 35.

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I. Enmity between the Woman and the Serpent

In his profound Marian Encyclical Redemptoris Mater of March 25, 1987, the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II stated:

In the salvific design of the Most Holy Trinity, the mystery of the Incarnation constitutes the superabundant fulfillment of the promise made by God to man after original sin, after that first sin whose effects oppress the whole earthly history of man (cf. Gen. 3:15). And so, there comes into the world a Son, “the seed of the woman” who will crush the evil of sin in its very origins: “he will crush the head of the serpent.” As we see from the words of the Protogospel, the victory of the woman’s Son will not take place without a hard struggle, a struggle that is to extend through the whole of human history. The “enmity,” foretold at the beginning, is confirmed in the Apocalypse (the book of the final events of the Church and the world), in which there recurs the sign of the “woman,” this time “clothed with the sun” (Rev. 12:1).

Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, is placed at the very center of that enmity, that struggle which accompanies the history of humanity on earth and the history of salvation itself. In this central place, she who belongs to the “weak and poor of the Lord” bears in herself, like no other member of the human race, that “glory of grace” which the Father “has bestowed on us in his beloved Son,” and this grace determines the extraordinary greatness and beauty of her whole being. Mary thus remains before God, and also before the whole of humanity, as the unchangeable and inviolable sign of God’s election, spoken of in Paul’s letter: “in Christ … he chose us…before the foundation of the world, … he destined us … to be his sons” (Eph. 1:4, 5). This election is more powerful than any experience of evil and sin, than all that “enmity” which marks the history of man. In this history Mary remains a sign of sure hope. …

Thanks to this special bond linking the Mother of Christ with the Church, there is further clarified the mystery of that “woman” who, from the first chapters of the Book of Genesis until the Book of Revelation, accompanies the revelation of God’s salvific plan for humanity. For Mary, present in the Church as the Mother of the Redeemer, takes part, as a mother, in that “monumental struggle; against the powers of darkness” which continues throughout human history (1).

It seems to me that the words received by Ida Peerdeman from March 25, 1945, to May 31, 1959, must be read and understood in this context traced out by the Pope. In fact, I believe that all of the major Marian apparitions recognized as worthy of credence by the Church since that of Guadalupe in 1531 reflect the struggle between the Woman and the serpent.

Let us begin with Guadalupe. The extraordinary image of the Virgin “not made by human hands” shows her standing on a black crescent moon, identified by some scholars as the serpent god of the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl, to whom millions of human sacrifices were made yearly. Helen Behrens (2), a noted Guadalupan expert offers this interpretation of the image and the name “Guadalupe”:

Neither Bishop Zumárraga nor any other Spanish prelate has been able to explain why (Our Lady) wished her image to be de Guadalupe. The reason must be that she did not say the phrase at all. She spoke in the native language, and the combination of words which she used must have sounded like de Guadalupe to the Spaniards. The Aztec “te coatlaxopeuh” has a similar sound. “Te” means “stone”; “coa” means “serpent,” “tla” is the noun ending which can be interpreted as “the,” while “xopeuh” means “crush” or “stamp out.” Her precious image will thus be known (by the name of) the Entirely Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary, and it will crush, stamp out, abolish or eradicate the stone serpent (3).

It is arguable that the “Woman who crushes the stone serpent” brought about the greatest movement of evangelization in the history of the Church. Within seven years of the apparition to St. Juan Diego eight million natives asked for Baptism, virtually wiping out one of the most cruel and diabolic cults which the world has known.

Another very important iconic reproduction of the “Woman who crushes the serpent” was manifested to St. Catherine Labouré in the vision which she had on November 27, 1830, in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul on the Rue du Bac in Paris. There she beheld the image of Our Lady familiar to us as Our Lady of Grace or of the miraculous medal with her foot on the head of the serpent. Strangely none of the written accounts by Catherine mention the serpent, but as Fr. Joseph I. Dirvin, C.M. writes:

That Catherine transmitted the details of the serpent and the stars to her director, at least by word of mouth, is morally certain, for she approved the medal which bore both details from the first. Besides, in 1836, when the artist LeCerf was painting canvases of the apparitions, she described the serpent to her director as “green with yellow spots” – a rather fearsome serpent, and one, certainly, to offend the sensibilities of an artist (4)!

This image of Our Lady, reproduced literally millions of times in medals, statues and pictures has become imprinted in the souls of generations of Catholics calling to mind at once the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 and the image of the “Woman Clothed with the Sun” in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation.

In the July 1917 apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, it is not an image of a serpent or of a dragon which the shepherd children see, but rather a terrifying vision of the kingdom of the prince of darkness. Let us listen to Lúcia’s narration of the event:

“Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times to Jesus, especially whenever you make some sacrifice:

‘O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’”

As Our Lady spoke these last words, she opened her hands once more, as she had done during the two previous months. The rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in the fire, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. Terrified and as if to plead for succor, we looked up at Our Lady, who said to us, so kindly and so sadly:

“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace” (5).

Here let it be noted that it is through the instrumentality of Mary’s hands that the children see the vision; she has the power to reveal the horrors of hell because hell is subject to her.

The messages communicated to Ida Peerdeman are apocalyptic, but of a different genre, one more similar to the third secret of Fatima. Throughout the scenes, especially those from 1945 to 1950, spiritual battle becomes a kind of constant background. Our Lady says to Ida: “This is the spiritual battle that is being carried on all over the world. It is much worse than the actual wars now being waged, because it is undermining mankind” (6). On another occasion Ida sees St. Peter’s while Our Lady stretches her hand over it and says “This must and shall be protected. The other spirit is infiltrating with such dreadful success” (7). Yet again she says: “Pass this on: Christendom, you do not know the great danger you are in. There is a spirit that is out to undermine you, but … (and her hands make a sign of blessing), the Victory is ours” (8). The kingdom of darkness is very clearly alluded to in the prayer given by Our Lady: “Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations, that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war.” (9).

The spiritual battle which Ida sees is much more insidious than material warfare. Our Lady draws the matter out for her on March 28, 1951:

Do you know, child, what kind of period this is? It is a time such as the world has not experienced in centuries – such falling away from the Faith! … in these modern times, in this modern world, which knows so well how to act promptly and swiftly in material affairs, it is equally necessary, in spiritual matters, to act swiftly and without delay. …

Rome still thinks itself to stand securely; it is not conscious of how it is being undermined! Do you realize that theology must yield to the interests of my Son? …

Rome must be conscious of its role in these days. Does Rome know who the enemy is that is lying in wait for her, like a serpent stealthily making its way in the world? I am not referring to Communism alone; there are yet other “prophets” to come, false prophets (10)!

What develops as the scenes unfold is that theologians have a special role to play in this spiritual battle because the era of true peace in the Church and in the world is dependent upon the recognition of the unique role which God has given to Mary. Now that the major truths about her person – her Immaculate Conception, her Divine Motherhood, her Perpetual Virginity and her Glorious Assumption – have been solemnly professed by the Church, it is time to recognize the altogether unique role which Mary has played and is playing as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate. So speaks Our Lady to Ida:

My purpose and my commission to you is none other than to urge the Church, the theologians, to wage this battle. For the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will to send the Lady, chosen to bear the Redeemer into this world, as Co-redemptrix and Advocate. I have said, “This time is our time.” By this I mean the following: The world is caught up in degeneration and superficiality. It is at a loss. Therefore, the Father sends me to be the Advocate, to implore the Holy Spirit to come. …

In the sufferings, both spiritual and bodily, the Lady, the Mother has shared. She has always gone before. As soon as the Father had elected her, she was the Co-redemptrix with the Redeemer, who came into the world as the Man-God. Tell that to your theologians.

I know well, the struggle will be hard and bitter (and then the Lady smiles to herself and seems to gaze into the far distance), but the outcome is already assured (11).

Let us listen now to the words of Our Lady to Ida on August 15, 1951: “I have crushed the snake with my foot. I have become united to my Son as I had always been united with Him. This is ‘the dogma’ that has gone before in the history of the Church” (12). Indeed, Our Lady has crushed the serpent; the grace of the redemption has been poured out, but it must still be appropriated. Indeed the victory is assured, but its timing will depend on your part and mine – and I can find no explanation for the incredible opposition and even hostility to the proposed dogma except that this is the serpent’s way of stalling for more time. The opposition itself stems from before the time of the Second Vatican Council and was reflected in the debates on the council floor and behind the scenes. As the Servant of God John Paul II put it very delicately and diplomatically in his Marian catechesis of December 13, 1995:

During the Council sessions, many Fathers wished further to enrich Marian doctrine with other statements on Mary’s role in the work of salvation. The particular context in which Vatican II’s Mariological debate took place did not allow these wishes, although substantial and widespread, to be accepted, but the Council’s entire discussion of Mary remains vigorous and balanced, and the topics themselves, though not fully defined, received significant attention in the overall treatment (13).

The point is that the council did not and could not close the door on further precisions on Our Lady’s role in the work of our redemption even if many commentators today would have us believe that. The ongoing controversy about this which Our Lady frequently indicated to Ida seems to be echoed by what she said to Sister Agnes Sasagawa on October 13, 1973: “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres” (14).

My point is simply that Marian doctrine is never marginal or a luxury in the Church. The recognition of the role that the Lord has given to Mary for our benefit is bound to have many important ramifications. How befittingly Ida heard Our Lady apostrophize on the Feast of the Assumption in 1951:

Rome, do you know, how completely everything is being undermined? The years will speed by unheeded, but the longer you wait, the more the Faith will decline; the greater the number of years, the greater the apostasy (15).

II. Mediatrix of All Graces

In the course of the second millennium the Catholic Church has come to an ever clearer understanding of the role of Mary as the distributor of all of the graces of the redemption in which she had an active role. This has been affirmed by all of the popes of modern times, even though, because of complex maneuvering behind the scenes and on the council floor, the Second Vatican Council effectively refused to pronounce on this matter. The council did effectively recognize that Mary may rightly be called Mediatrix, but abstained from stating that she is by the express will of God “Mediatrix of All Graces” (16). Hence the following statement of Pope Benedict XVI in his homily of May 11, 2007, at the canonization of Frei Antônio de Sant’Ana Galvão at Campo de Marte, São Paulo, Brazil, complements and completes the teaching of the council and may be safely taken as representative of what his predecessors have been teaching for the past 150 years:

Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, stands particularly close to us at this moment. Frei Galvão prophetically affirmed the truth of the Immaculate Conception. She, the Tota Pulchra, the Virgin Most Pure, who conceived in her womb the Redeemer of mankind and was preserved from all stain of original sin, wishes to be the definitive seal of our encounter with God our Savior. There is no fruit of grace in the history of salvation that does not have as its necessary instrument the mediation of Our Lady. …

My dear friends, allow me to finish by recalling the Vigil of Prayer at Marienfeld in Germany: in the presence of a multitude of young people, I spoke of the saints of our epoch as true reformers. And I added: “Only from the saints, only from God does true revolution come, the definitive way to change the world” (Homily, August 20, 2005). This is the invitation that I address to all of you today, from the first to the last, in this Eucharist without frontiers. God said: “Be holy, as I am holy” (Lev. 11:44). Let us give thanks to God the Father, to God the Son, to God the Holy Spirit from whom, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we receive all the blessings of heaven; from whom we receive this gift which, together with faith, is the greatest grace that can be bestowed upon a creature: the firm desire to attain the fullness of charity, in the conviction that holiness is not only possible but also necessary for every person in his or her own state of life, so as to reveal to the world the true face of Christ, our friend! Amen (17)!

Probably the most striking representation of this Catholic belief is to be found in the image of Our Lady of the miraculous medal as she appeared to St. Catherine Labouré on November 27, 1830.

On each of her fingers were three precious stones of differing size and from them came rays of light which fell upon the sphere at her feet. But from some of these stones no rays at all were cast.

Just as I was thinking of this – continues Catherine – the Blessed Virgin turned her eyes to me, and a Voice spoke within me: “The sphere which you see is the world; it includes France and every inhabitant of the earth. The rays of light which come from my hands are the graces which I shower on those who ask for them.”

Our Lady gave me to understand with what generosity and great joy she dispensed grace. “But,” she said, “there are graces for which I am not asked, and it is for this reason that some of the stones you see are not sending forth any rays of light” (18).

In her Third Memoir, finished on August 31, 1941, Lúcia offers us this profound insight into the mediation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

As I have already written in the second account, Our Lady told me on June 13th, 1917, that she would never forsake me, and that her Immaculate Heart would be my refuge and the way that would lead me to God. As she spoke these words, she opened her hands, and from them streamed a light that penetrated to our inmost hearts. I think that, on that day (of the second apparition), the main purpose of this light was to infuse within us a special knowledge and love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary, just as on the other two occasions it was intended to do, as it seems to me, with regard to God and the mystery of the most Holy Trinity.

From that day onwards, our hearts were filled with a more ardent love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary. From time to time, Jacinta said to me: “The Lady said that her Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God. Don’t you love that? Her Heart is so good! How I love it!” (19)

Here the images of Our Lady’s mediation are quite striking. Her Heart will be Lucia’s “refuge and the way that will lead her to God.” Secondly there is the image of Mary’s hands opening and the light streaming from them. This is reminiscent of the vision of St. Catherine Labouré, but here there is the understanding that through Mary’s mediation one can receive special insights into the Most Blessed Trinity as well as into her own Immaculate Heart.

Lúcia goes on to report to us some of the extraordinary insights of her little cousin Jacinta:

You will remain here to make known that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you are to say this, don’t go and hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to her. If I could only put into the hearts of all, the fire that is burning within my own heart, and that makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so much!” (20)

Here we may note Bl. Jacinta’s firm conviction about the mediation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with God and “that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side,” a confirmation that the recognition of Mary’s unique coredemptive and mediatorial role is the will of Jesus.

Now it is very interesting that the general posture of Our Lady in the image that she instructed Ida to have painted and that Ida herself had seen on May 31, 1951, is very similar to that of the image found on the miraculous medal. There are a number of differences, however. One is that Our Lady stands before the cross, indicating her collaboration in the work of our redemption. Another is that the globe of the world is surrounded by flocks of sheep. Let us listen to Ida’s description.

Then the Lady speaks to me again, “My child, imprint this image deeply on your mind and transmit it correctly: The flocks of sheep represent the peoples of the world who will not find rest until they achieve content and fix their eyes on the Cross, the center of this world.”

“Now look at my hands and relate what you see.” Now I see in the palms of her hands what appear to be wounds already healed and from these, rays of light stream out, three from each hand, and diffuse themselves upon the sheep.

Smiling, the Lady adds, “These three rays are grace, redemption, and peace. Through the grace of my Lord and Master, and for the love of mankind, the Father sent His only-begotten Son as Redeemer for the world. Now they both wish to send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Who alone can bring peace. Hence: ‘Grace, redemption and peace.’ The Father and the Son wish, as at this very time, to send Mary, ‘the Lady of All Nations’ as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. – Now I have given you a clear and lucid explanation of the picture. There is nothing more to be said (21).

What is particularly striking here is that Mary’s hands have the stigmata imprinted on them. I believe that this is an entirely new feature in Marian iconography, but entirely justified pictorially. After Jesus, the God-man, no human creature – including all of the stigmatics of history – have shared more intimately in the saving Passion of Jesus than his mother. Let us listen to the words of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II in his Marian catechesis of April 9, 1997, which faithfully echoes the teachings of his predecessors on this important point:

Applied to Mary, the term “cooperator” acquires a specific meaning. The collaboration of Christians in salvation takes place after the Calvary event, whose fruits they endeavor to spread by prayer and sacrifice. Mary, instead, cooperated during the event itself and in the role of mother; thus her cooperation embraces the whole of Christ’s saving work. She alone was associated in this way with the redemptive sacrifice that merited the salvation of all mankind. In union with Christ and in submission to him, she collaborated in obtaining the grace of salvation for all humanity (22).

Iconographically, then, we have here a remarkable indication that Mary’s mediation of grace, redemption and peace flows from her role as Co-redemptrix: precisely from her wounded hands pour forth the graces of redemption. She would repeat this message again to Ida on July 2, 1951, with further explanations:

Now look hard at my hands. From them emanate rays of grace, redemption and peace. The rays shine upon all peoples, upon all sheep. Among these peoples there are many of good will. To be of good will means to keep the first and great commandment. The first and great commandment is LOVE. He who loves, will honor his Lord and Creator in His creation. He who loves, will do nothing that would dishonor his neighbor. That is what this world is lacking: Love of God – Love of Neighbor (23).

Our Lady indicates that “the rays shine upon all peoples, upon all sheep. Among these peoples there are many of good will.” Quite evidently she is saying that the graces which she mediates are not only for Catholics, not even just for Christians, but for all people of good will. All peoples need to know that the grace of redemption comes from Jesus through Mary. The more explicit this knowledge is, the more all peoples can benefit from it. The call for the dogma is also a call for the “new evangelization.”

III. The Advocate for All Humanity with Jesus and the Holy Spirit

In the wonderfully rich homily which our Holy Father gave in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on January 31, 1985, he said that “Mary’s role as Co-redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son” and then he went on to explain that

The Church believes that the Most Holy Virgin, assumed into heaven, is near Christ, forever living to make intercession for us (cf. Heb. 7:25), and that to her Son’s divine mediation there is joined the incessant supplication of his Mother on behalf of men, her sons and daughters.

Mary is the dawn, and the dawn unfailingly announces the arrival of the sun.

Therefore I recommend to all of you, brothers and sisters of Ecuador, that you honor with profound love and have recourse to the Mother of Christ and the Church the “all-powerful suppliant” (omnipotentia supplex), that she will bring us ever closer to Christ, her Son and our Mediator (24).

There are at least two salient points to be drawn from this doctrinally rich statement. The first is that Mary participates in the priestly intercession of the glorified Christ who is now seated at the right hand of the Father where he ceaselessly intercedes for us. In union with Jesus (cf. Heb. 7:25; 1 Jn. 2:1) and the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn. 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) (25) she, too, is our Advocate. The second is a further precision of Mary’s intercessory role: she is omnipotentia supplex, an almost untranslatable phrase which indicates that she is at the same time both a suppliant as well as all-powerful. Pope John Paul II used this paradoxical expression to describe Our Lady’s intercession on a number of occasions (26). Perhaps one of the best explanations of this terminology comes from St. Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori:

Since the Mother, then, should have the same power as the Son, Jesus, who is omnipotent, has also made Mary omnipotent; though, of course, it is always true that, while Jesus is omnipotent by nature, Mary is omnipotent only by grace. But that she is so appears from the fact that, whatever the Mother asks for, the Son never denies her. … Mary, then, is called omnipotent in the sense in which such a term can be applied to a creature who is incapable of a divine attribute; that is, she is omnipotent because she obtains by her prayers whatever she wishes (27).

As Mary is Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix of all Graces, she is also our most perfect human Advocate before the Blessed Trinity. This title has profound roots in the Catholic tradition going all the way back to St. Irenaeus in the second century. It occurs in the Hail, Holy Queen where we pray: “turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us.” The word Advocate is predicated of Mary literally hundreds of times in the Papal Magisterium and reference to her intercession is a constantly recurring theme. Indeed, the great Marian document of the Second Vatican Council readily recognized that Mary is rightly invoked as Advocate (28). In his great Marian Encyclical Redemptoris Mater John Paul gave a brilliant analysis of how Mary’s role as Advocate is intimately related to her role as Mediatrix:

At Cana in Galilee there is shown only one concrete aspect of human need, apparently a small one of little importance (They have no wine). But it has a symbolic value: this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ’s messianic mission and salvific power. Thus there is a mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself “in the middle,” that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she “has the right” to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary “intercedes” for mankind. And that is not all. As a mother she also wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help man in his misfortunes, to free him from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs heavily upon his life (29).

On May 31, 1955, Our Lady gave Ida what was to be the clearest description of her role as Advocate:

You will have to endure a great deal as yet in this century. You, nations of this era, do realize that you are under the protection of “the Lady of All Nations”; call upon her as the Advocate; ask her to stave off all disasters; ask her to banish degeneration from this world.

Degeneration breeds disaster. Degeneration generates war. You should ask by means of my prayer to eject it from this world; do you not know what great value and power this prayer boasts before God? He will grant the requests of his Mother, when she comes to plead for you as Advocate (30).

IV. Conclusion

In concluding his important, but unfortunately largely forgotten Encyclical Letter of May 8, 1928, Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI formulated this prayer:

May the most gracious Mother of God, who gave us Jesus as Redeemer, who reared Him, and at the foot of the Cross offered Him as Victim, who by her mysterious union with Christ and by her matchless grace rightly merits the name Reparatrix, deign to smile upon our wishes and our undertakings. Trusting in her intercession with Christ our Lord, who though sole Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), wished however to make His Mother the advocate for sinners and the dispenser and mediatrix of His grace, from the bottom of our heart as a token of heavenly favor and of our fatherly solicitude we heartily impart to you and to all the faithful entrusted to your care our apostolic benediction (31).

If one reads this text with care, one will discover that Pius XI effectively identifies the Mother of God as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. One of the keys is to understand that the Latin word Reparatrix which the Pope used is an equivalent of the word Co-redemptrix. By offering his death for us on the Cross, Jesus “repaired” our relationship with the Father; he made “reparation” to him. As the “New Eve” at the side of the “New Adam,” Mary was united with him in this act of “reparation” in a way that was secondary, subordinate and dependent on him, but at the same time altogether unique. Hence she may be rightly called Reparatrix or Co-redemptrix (32). Secondly, the Pope pointed out that while Jesus, the God-man, is the sole Mediator between the Creator and his creatures, he wished to make His Mother “the dispenser and mediatrix of His grace.” Thirdly, the Pope also stated that the Lord wanted to make His Mother the “advocate for sinners.”

Linking together the titles Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate enables us to grasp Mary’s role in our salvation in a logical and coherent way: it is precisely because of Our Lady’s unique and intimate participation in the work of the redemption as Co-redemptrix that she is able to be the distributor (Mediatrix) of all graces and the great intercessor (Advocate) for her children after Jesus himself and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, each of these terms brings out another facet of how Mary shares in an unparalleled way in the unique priestly mediation of Jesus: she cooperates in the work of our redemption; she distributes the graces of the redemption; she lives to make intercession for us.

These three titles represent the Church’s ever deepening grasp of the unique role which the Mother of God plays in the work of the redemption, not only in the past, but here and now. The titles are not new, much less is their content new. The role of Mary in the work of our redemption has been the central question in Mariology for the past century and because, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council rightly stated, “Mary, having intimately entered into salvation history, somehow brings together in herself and reverberates the most important doctrines of the faith” (33). Therefore, far from being a side issue, I believe that this is the most important question facing theology today. Thus far the great majority of Catholic theologians have refused to affirm clearly what the Holy Spirit has been teaching the Church about Mary for the past millennium and have preferred instead the route of compromise and minimalism. One need only consult “agreed statements” like Mary in the New Testament (34), The One Mediator, The Saints, and Mary (35), the much-touted declaration of the Dombes Group (36) and the ARCIC agreed statement on Mary of 2005 (37). Catholic pastors with the rarest of exceptions have also maintained an almost total silence about this matter and, indeed, at this stage many are genuinely ignorant of the Church’s millennial tradition.

But as Our Lady repeatedly stressed to Ida: now is the time to act. If God has made Mary the greatest and most perfect creature possible and has given her a totally unique role in the work of redemption – always subordinate to the God-man and dependent upon him – can we legitimately deny this or remain silent about it? Jesus is at the very center of our faith and Mary stands next to him. No, she is not the center of our faith, but she stands next to the center. She is inseparable from Jesus, united to him by an indissoluble bond and likewise united to the Church by an indissoluble bond. This is what the revelations of Our Lady of All Nations insist on, but this is not a new doctrine; it is the perennial teaching of the Church, now unfortunately all too often unknown, misunderstood or obscured. We must make this doctrine known, humbly, but joyfully. We must pray and sacrifice so that the definition requested by Our Lady comes about. I believe that we must accept the words spoken to “Rome” as also addressed to ourselves:

Rome, do you know, how completely everything is being undermined? The years will speed by unheeded, but the longer you wait, the more the Faith will decline; the greater the number of years, the greater the apostasy (38).

The Lord asks our collaboration, just as he asked for Mary’s. On this depends the “Triumph of her Immaculate Heart” (39) prophesied by Our Lady at Fatima and the Lord has chosen to make this triumph the key to the Reign of the Most Sacred Heart of his Son.

Praised be the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

Msgr. Calkins gave the preceding paper on May 31, 2008, at a Mariological conference on coredemption in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Notes

(1) Redemptoris Mater #11, 47. Emphasis my own.

(2) Cf. A Handbook on Guadalupe (Kenosha, WI: Franciscan Marytown Press, 1974) 113-115.

(3) Cited in Francis Johnston, The Wonder of Guadalupe (Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1981) 47-48. Emphasis my own. Cf. also The Dark Virgin: The Book of Our Lady of Guadalupe – A Documentary Anthology edited by Donald Demarest & Coley Taylor (Coley Taylor, Inc. / Publishers, 1956) 26-28; A Handbook on Guadalupe 107-112; Thomas Mary Sennott, Acheiropoeta: Not Made by Hands (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 1998) 27.

(4) Joseph I. Dirvin, C.M., Saint Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal (NY: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1958) 97.

(5) Louis Kondor, S.V.D. (Ed.), Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words trans. Dominican Nuns of Perpetual Rosary (Fatima: Postulation Centre, 1976), Fourth Memoir, 162. Emphasis my own.

(6) The Messages of The Lady of All Nations (Santa Barbara, CA: Queenship Publishing Co., 1996) (= Messages followed by date, then page number in parenthesis) January 3, 1946 (8).

(7) Messages December 16, 1949 (24).

(8) Messages August 15, 1950 (30-31). Emphasis my own.

(9) Messages February 11, 1951 (39).

(10) Messages March 28, 1951 (44-45). Emphasis on “like a serpent …” my own.

(11) Messages April 29, 1951 (49-51).

(12) Messages August 15, 1951 (54).

(13) Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II XVIII/2 (1995) 1369 (Pope John Paul II, Theotókos – Woman, Mother, Disciple: A Catechesis on Mary, Mother of God (Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2000) 51).

(14) Teiji Yasuda, O.M.V., Akita: The Tears and Message of Mary trans. John M. Haffert (Asbury, NJ: 101 Foundation, 1989) 78. These words are also quoted by Bishop John S. Ito in his pastoral letter of April 22, 1984, in which he authorized the veneration of the Holy Mother of Akita, cf. 196.

(15) Messages August 15, 1951 (56).

(16) Cf. Lumen Gentium #60, 62.

(17) Insegnamenti di Benedetto XVI III/1 (2007) 820-821 (L’Osservatore Romano, weekly edition in English (= ORE). First number = cumulative edition number; second number = page) 1829:3. Emphasis my own except for Immaculate Conception, Tota Pulchra and “Be holy, as I am holy” (Lev. 11:44).

(18) Omer Englebert, Catherine Labouré and the Modern Apparitions of Our Lady trans. Alastair Guinan (NY: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1959) 34-35.

(19) Kondor Third Memoir, 107. Italics my own.

(20) Kondor Third Memoir, 111-112. Italics my own.

(21) Messages May 31, 1951 (52).

(22) Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II XX/1 (1997) 621-622 (Pope John Paul II, Theotókos – Woman, Mother, Disciple: A Catechesis on Mary, Mother of God (Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2000) 185-186).

(23) Messages July 2, 1951 (54).

(24) Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II VIII/1 (1985) 321 (ORE 876:7).

(25) These texts in John’s gospel all refer to the Greek word Parakletos which is sometimes left in the Greek form “Paraclete” and variously translated as “Counselor” and “Advocate.” It refers to one who intercedes and pleads the cause of another.

(26) Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II II/1 (1979) 1034 (ORE 580:1); Inseg II/2 (1979) 816, 818 (ORE 610:3); Inseg VI/2 (1983) 558.

(27) St. Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, The Glories of Mary, Part I trans. Charles G. Fehrenbach, C.SS.R. et al. (Baltimore: Helicon Press, 1962) 113 (Opere Ascetiche di S. Alfonso M. De Liguori Vol. VI (Rome, 1936) 205-206).

(28) Cf. Lumen Gentium #62.

(29) Redemptoris Mater #21.

(30) Messages May 31, 1955 (87).

(31) Acta Apostolicæ Sedis 20 (1928) 178 (Our Lady: Papal Teachings) trans. Daughters of St. Paul (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1961) #287.

(32) Cf. Arthur Burton Calkins, “Maria Reparatrix: Tradition, Magisterium, Liturgy” in Mary at the Foot of the Cross – III: Maria, Mater Unitatis. Acts of the Third International Symposium on Marian Coredemption (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 2003) 223-258.

(33) Lumen Gentium #65.

(34) Raymond E. Brown, Karl P. Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and John Reumann (eds.), Mary in the New Testament: A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars (Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA – Paulist Press, New York, N.Y.,1978).

(35) H. George Anderson, J. Francis Stafford, Joseph A. Burgess (eds.), The One Mediator, The Saints, and Mary: Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue VIII (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1992).

(36) Alain Blancy and Maurice Jourjon and the Dombes Group, Mary in the Plan of God and in the Communion of Saints trans. Matthew J. O’Connell (NY: Paulist Press, 2002).

(37) The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, Mary, Grace and Hope in Christ: An Agreed Statement (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2005).

(38) Messages August 15, 1951 (56).

(39) Cf. Kondor Fourth Memoir, 162.

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“Once more I am here, – The Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate is now standing before you. I have chosen this day: on this day the Lady will be crowned. Theologians and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ listen carefully: I have given you the explanation of the dogma. Work and ask for this dogma. You should petition the Holy Father for this dogma. The Lord Jesus Christ has wrought great things and will give even more to you all in these times, in this twentieth century. On this date ‘ the Lady of All Nations ‘ will receive her official title of ‘ Lady of All Nations ‘

Note well: these three concepts in one. These three. ( The Lady puts up three fingers and moves the other hand round about Her until She becomes, as it were, enveloped in a delicate mist ). Now I have demonstrated these three concepts to your theologians. THESE THREE CONCEPTS AS ONE WHOLE. I AM SAYING THIS TWICE BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME WHO WILL ACCEPT ONLY ONE CONCEPT. THE HOLY FATHER WILL AGREE TO THE FORMER. BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO HELP HIM ACHIEVE THIS. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT.

“In this way, my child, I have let you see what is the Will of the Lord Jesus Christ. This day will in due time, be the ‘ Coronation Day ‘ of His Mother, ‘ the Lady of All Nations,’ who once was Mary.

“And here is my sign: ‘ the Lady of All Nations’ is allowed to come under this title every year to Her children, to Her apostles, to all nations.

“…When the dogma, the last dogma in Marian history, has been proclaimed, ‘ the Lady of All Nations ‘ will give peace, true peace to the world. The nations, however, must say my prayer in union with the Church. They must know that ‘ the Lady of All Nations ‘ has come as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.

So be it!”

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The following address was given May 31, 2008, at a conference in Amsterdam.

Mary Co-redemptrix and the Fifth Marian Dogma:
Perennial Christian Truth; Contemporary Call of the Lady of All Nations

We begin with the words of Pope John Paul II, with a phrase pregnant in meaning. He tells us that “Mary’s role as Co-redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son” (1). These words have a theological meaning, but also a meaning for us in this present critical moment of human history. This is not simply an ivory tower truth. It is a truth that calls each one of us to a conviction of heart for ourselves, and also for all humanity.

It is important to note and to understand from the beginning that what Our Lady says in the messages of Amsterdam is true: this is not a new doctrine, but these are really old ideas that she is bringing us to anew. It is therefore important that we briefly go back in history, back through the rich Tradition of our Catholic faith—the assurance of popes, of saints, of mystics, and of the sensus fidelium, the common people—so that we can understand how deeply this truth of Marian coredemption is part of us, part of our heritage. Now is the time for the climax, not the genesis, of the doctrine of Mary Co-redemptrix.

Brief History of Mary Co-redemptrix

So where did this truth begin? The truth as we know it begins with the fiat of the Virgin of Nazareth. When she consents to give us the redeemer, she gives Jesus his body, which is the instrument of our redemption. Hebrews 10:10 tells us that “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” In a brief time with Mother, now Blessed, Teresa of Calcutta on the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1993 (August 14), within the first two minutes of my conversation with her, she told me directly, “Of course Mary is the Co-redemptrix! She gave the body to Jesus and the body of Jesus is what saved us” (2). I responded to Mother Teresa, “That’s the difference between sanctity and theology. It takes you 30 seconds to say what it takes us books to write.” There was no hesitation. And as we know, with the saints, it is a higher level of the sensus fidelium. They are more in tune with the Holy Spirit, not less.

Mary says “yes” and we have the redeemer. Keep in mind the yes of Mary, the consent of the fiat, is a lifetime yes. We know this within our own vocational examples. For those of you who are priests, when you said yes to become a priest, you said yes for your life. You didn’t say yes contingent on another invitation from heaven at a time of crisis later in life. It is the same for married life. When you say yes to be married, you don’t say “yes, but in 20 years when my marriage has challenges, I expect to receive another invitation and the choice to make another fiat.” The yes of vocation is a yes for life, and so it was with the Virgin. Her yes at the Annunciation was her yes for all her life, a yes confirmed by the prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:35) that a sword would pierce her heart now and in the future. And like a mother, who even before the child understands his role of suffering-redemption, the mother always has behind her mind, in the recesses of her consciousness, “My son was born to die. My innocent child was born to be immolated.” Because this mother was educated in the Temple, and she knows the prophecy of Isaiah. She knows that indeed, the suffering servant would be so disfigured that he would be unrecognizable.

The yes of the Virgin of Nazareth is therefore in itself the yes to Calvary. There is no new invitation. The Archangel Gabriel does not come back and re-invite her to be “with Jesus” in the work of redemption. As Pope Benedict said recently in his February 11 letter to the Sick, Mary shares in the Passion of her Son as a continuation of her fiat at the Annunciation.

Hence it is at the Annunciation that Mary begins the role of Co-redemptrix. As we all know, it reaches a climax, not a beginning, at Calvary. John Paul explained it masterfully, that at Calvary Mary was “spiritually crucified with her crucified Son” (3). What happened to Jesus in his body happened to Mary in spirit, in heart. Other contributors from the mystical tradition, and not simply Our Lady of All Nations, testify to Mary’s spiritual and even invisible physical stigmata at Calvary in union with her son.

John Paul II’s theology of the body helps us to explain this. What does the theology of the body tell us? It tells us that the body expresses the person. Therefore Mary’s spiritual stigmatization in her heart with Jesus would also be appropriately experienced in her body, but invisibly. Why? She would never constitute a distraction from her son. Her suffering would be mystically united to that of Jesus, of heart and body, but never causing humanity to take its eyes off its crucified God. The Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium 58 gives a beautiful commentary on John 19:25: “Mary lovingly consented to the immolation of the Victim born of her.” This means that Mary has to say not only “I will endure this, I will tolerate this,” but she says further “I will that my Son be immolated for the salvation of the rest of my children.” Such an act of consent is almost unimaginable for a mother to have to say for her innocent, divine child. And yet, this is the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on Mary’s coredemption. It starts at the Annunciation and climaxes at Calvary.

In the second century, St. Irenaeus summarizes it well: “Mary is the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race” (4). It a secondary causality completely dependent upon the all-encompassing causality of Christ; it is an instrumental causality, but it is a true causality. Why? Because God the Father wanted to use exactly the same means that led to the loss of our salvation to show his omnipotence. So he needed a man, he needed a woman, he needed a tree. And so he uses the New Adam in Jesus, the new Eve in Mary, and the tree of the Cross. This is the ultimate sign of the Father’s dominance over Satan, that he took the same instruments and reversed them for our salvation. And that is why Mary was a necessary part in the perfect providential plan of God in salvation. When we say that Mary is the New Eve, we are using the patristic formulation of the Co-redemptrix doctrine, in capturing her unique participation with Jesus in salvation.

In the fifth century, in Eastern liturgies, for example the Armenian liturgies, Mary is referred to as the “Liberatrix,” the woman who frees us from Satan’s grasp. She is likewise called the “Salvatrix,” the woman who saves us (5). In the Eastern Akathistos hymn, she is called the “Redemption of the tears of Eve” (6). There is remarkably beautiful coredemption language in the Eastern Akathistos hymn of the sixth century.

By the tenth century, the coredemption doctrine is fully elaborated by John the Geometer, the Byzantine monk. John Paul II, in one of his audiences, tells us that John the Geometer is the first to clearly delineate that the Mother and Son are inseparable in the work of redemption (7).

It is noteworthy that in exactly the same tenth century, we have the first appearance of the title, “Redemptrix.” It is very important to never separate the doctrine and the title. They go together. The title is just a one-word summation of the doctrine. That’s why historically when the doctrine of Redemptrix is formulated in terms of Mary’s unique participation with Jesus at Calvary, thereby out comes the title. The title is found in a French hymnal within the litany of the saints: Sancta Redemptrix, ora pro nobis (8). Notice it does not read, Sancta Redemptrix, miserere nobis. There is no parallel with Jesus here. It is intrinsically subordinate.

Some modern theologians might contend that the Redemptrix title for Mary goes too far (9). But in historical fact and context, Redemptrix never places Mary on a level of equality with Jesus.” In a parallel case, when we use the term Mediatrix for Our Lady, we do not call her the “Co-mediatrix,” but rather the “Mediatrix.” Why? Because subordination is implied. The subordination is part of our clear understanding within the covenant family of the People of God.

By the twelfth century, we have the significant contribution of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. And St. Bernard of Clairvaux speaks of the “compassion” of Mary. Cum-passio: “to suffer with.” She is the woman who suffers with Jesus at Calvary. And St. Bernard is the first to speak about offering the divine Victim to the Father. Here it is still in the context of the Presentation. But it is a true offering, an act of will of the Mother to offer the Son for our redemption, which is articulated in the twelfth century.

His disciple, Arnold of Chartres, (+1160), is the first to talk about Mary “co-dying” (10), “co-suffering” (11), and being “co-crucified” (12) with Jesus at Calvary. He answers an objection that Mary did not operate the redemption by specifying that she indeed “co-operated” in the redemption. We thereby have the beginning of a series of Marian “co” terms. The prefix “co” of course does not mean equal. We know this as students of Scripture. When St. Paul calls each one of us to be co-workers with God (1 Cor 3:9), it cannot mean equal, otherwise such would constitute blasphemy. Pius XI and John Paul II have called each one of us to be “co-redeemers with Christ.”

Sometimes paradoxically what some theologians do not grasp, mothers of families grasp. Many will remember when we were children if we fell and we hurt ourselves, what would our mothers tell us? “Offer it up, dear.” What does it mean, to “offer it up”? It means that if you patiently endure your suffering and unite it to the sufferings of Jesus and Mary, you can truly cooperate in the salvation of someone else through a new release of the graces of Calvary. It is a very simple principle in the Mystical Body of Christ. We are all called to be co-workers, co-redeemers in the salvation of one another. Our Lady, though, is the unique Co-redemptrix in the objective, historic accomplishment of redemption with Christ.

In the fourteenth century, we have the first expression of the term “Co-redemptrix” in a hymn from Salzburg. It’s a beautiful hymn which uses both Redemptrix and Co-redemptrix titles, which mutually bespeak Our Lady’s unique sharing in the Passion (13). By this time there is no question of the legitimacy of the doctrine. Please keep in mind that this is over 700 years ago. If someone tells you, “We don’t need a new term,” one possible response might be, “Yes I agree, because there’s nothing new about Mary Co-Redemptrix. It is seven centuries old.”

By the sixteenth century, we have a very important theological contribution from one of the Council of Trent’s foremost theologians, one of the original Jesuits, Alphonsus Salmerón. In the sixteenth century on several occasions Salmerón, the Tridentine theologian, defends the Co-redemptrix doctrine and title. In one paragraph, he uses all thrre titles of Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate—and this over 500 years ago (14). A half century before Salmeron, the Franciscan theologian Bernardine of Bustos had likewise used Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate in 1470. Truly, these are not new terms.

After the reformation and during the Catholic Counter-reformation of the seventeenth century, we have what is rightly called the Golden Age of Mary Co-redemptrix—during which theologians make more than 300 references to the Co-redemptrix doctrine and the title (15). In terms of the fundamental theology of coredemption and the classical categories of merit, satisfaction, atonement, redemption, there is no new foundational pillar of the doctrine from the seventeenth century to the present. We have experienced a greater development of the understanding of the categories, certainly; but by this golden age of the seventeenth century, the essential theological foundations of Mary’s unique role in the redemption is systematically established (16).

In the nineteenth century, Ven. John Henry Cardinal Newman, the great English scholar, in his debate with the Anglican Pusey, defends the Co-redemptrix title, stating, “When they found you with the Fathers calling her Mother of God, Second Eve, and Mother of all Living, the Mother of Life, the Morning Star, the Mystical New Heaven, the Sceptre of Orthodoxy, the All-undefiled Mother of Holiness, and the like, they would have deemed it a poor compensation for such language, that you protested against her being called a Co-redemptrix?” (17) This is yet another testimony to its multi-faceted presence in our Tradition.

In the twentieth century and from a very exclusive category of saints, that is, saints who lived, died, and were canonized all within the twentieth century, we have a consistent witness to the Mother Co-redemptrix. These contemporary saints tell us by their repeated use of the title and doctrine in their teachings and writings that the Marian Co-redemptrix title is a legitimate, contemporary, and relevant term for today. This modern litany of renowned saints include St. Pio, St. Edith Stein, St. Jose Maria Escriva, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. Leopold Mandic, who actually gave himself as a victim soul to Our Lady Co-redemptrix for East-West unity (18). The life offering of St. Leopold should make concretely clear for us that Marian coredemption and ecumenism are in no sense antithetical.

The nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century papal Magisterium continues the fiat to Mary Co-redemptrix, but now with its unique authoritative voice. The doctrine of Marian coredemption, which again reveals the simple truth that Mary uniquely participated with and under Jesus in the redemption of the world, both at the Annunciation and in a climactic manner at Calvary, has been the official papal teaching of the Magisterium from Leo XIII to Pope Benedict XVI.

When does the specific title first appear in the Papal Magisterium? Under the pontificate of St. Pius X, Co-redemptrix is used by the Holy See on three occasions. Twice it appears in the documents of the Holy Office (which today is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). On a third occasion, it appears in a statement by the Vatican Congregation of Rites. What is particularly interesting about these usages is that it is the Holy Office itself that voluntarily inserts the Co-redemptrix title in their own response to various questions posed to the Congregation. What does this infer? It infers that the Holy Office was so confident in the doctrinal legitimacy of this title that even in responding to various petitions they chose to freely present the title.

Pope Pius XI is the first pontiff to directly use the title, and does so on three occasions during his pontificate. In one address, he explains the Co-redemptrix title as describing Christ’s incorporation of his mother in the work of redemption, in a way whereby he could not but associate Mary in the work of redemption (19).

Pope John Paul II, on six occasions during his illustrious Marian pontificate uses the title Co-redemptrix (20). Some opponents have critiqued these usages by stating that John Paul’s use was reserved to “marginal” texts. While one can legitimately make distinctions concerning a true hierarchy of papal statements, nonetheless the case can rightly be made that there is no such thing as a marginal text by the Vicar of Christ when speaking on an issue of faith and morals. When an official teaching comes from the Vicar of Christ on an issue of doctrine, it ceases to be marginal. Moreover, the context in which John Paul has used the title, for example as in the text of Guayaquil (21), is a rich context of Scriptural and conciliar theology.

The Second Vatican Council most certainly teaches the doctrine in Lumen Gentium 57, 58 and 61. John Paul II wrote his only Marian encyclical, Redemptoris Mater, as a commentary on Lumen Gentium 58, the principal coredemption paragraph from the Second Vatican Council, yet another indication of its importance in the mind and heart of the Totus Tuus pontiff.

When certain theologians mention that the title is not contained in the Second Vatican Council, they typically fail to mention the explicit teaching of the doctrine and moreover fail to mention pertinent circumstances as to why it is not contained is typically not included, for example that a theological subcommission omitted the title before the council fathers had an opportunity to even discuss the title, even though there are four paragraphs of notation in the first schema of the treatment of Our Lady at the Council in explanation of the history of the Co-redemptrix title and of its legitimacy. What reason was given by the theological subcommittee for the removal of the title? They stated that the term, absolutely true in itself, could be difficult to understand by our “separated brethren,” our Protestant brothers and sisters. Hence the fathers of Vatican II never had an opportunity to evaluate or vote on accepting or rejecting the Co-redemptrix title. If we were to use the same criterion for other Catholic terms and titles, that is, anything that could potentially be difficult to understand by our separated brethren, what do we do with terms such as Transubstantiation and Papal Infallibility, let alone the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption?

Once again, even though the title does not appear in the Council documents, it must be re-iterated that Vatican II most clearly and emphatically teaches the Co-redemptrix doctrine.

Pope Benedict XVI has continued the more than two century unbroken line of papal teaching of this doctrine. On February 11, 2008, in his letter for the World Day of the Sick, our Holy Father specifically teaches Mary’s unique sharing in the Passion of her Son at Calvary as a continuity of her “yes” at the Annunciation (22). It is also significant that on that day of February 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Cardinal Lozano Barragán, the prefect for the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care who presided at the Mass of the World Day of the Sick, gave his homily on Marian coredemption and specifically called her the “Co-redemptrix with the Savior” (23). On the next day, his use of Co-redemptrix was distributed throughout the world through Vatican Information Services.

If you hear, therefore, that the Co-redemptrix is simply a pre-Vatican term, neither relevant nor in use by the Church today, please be assured that it is most definitely a post-conciliar term, especially in light of John Paul II’s six uses of the term after the Council, as well as most recent usages within the Holy See, such as that by Cardinal Lozano-Barragán.

As recently as one week ago, Pope Benedict XVI wrote an inspiring prayer for the world day of prayer for China on May 24, 2008, in which in he teaches the following on Our Lady’s coredemption:

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother …

When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son, Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence (24).

The papal teaching on the doctrine of the Co-redemptrix continues in our day.

Theological Objections to Mary Co-redemprrix

Within this rich historical and magisterial context, I want to respond to three objections that have been raised regarding the Co-redemptrix title.

The first objection is that the term Co-redemptrix represents a pre-Vatican II Mariology and therefore is irrelevant for today. As we have said, as soon as John Paul II used the term, it ceased to be a preconciliar term in light of its explicit use by a postconcilar pontiff. But this objection also represents an artificial separation between the Co-redemptrix doctrine and the Co-redemptrix title. The title embodies, encapsulates, and summarizes in one word the doctrine. It continues to be the powerful teaching of the Second Vatican Council and of John Paul II, and now Pope Benedict, whether it be present in the title or in the doctrine.

In response to the related objection that all which came before the Council is now no longer relevant, I refer to the preeminently important presentation of Pope Benedict XVI to the Roman Curia of December 22, 2005 (25), in which he gives the proper interpretive key for understanding the Council and its present relevance in light of what came before the Council. His expression “hermeneutics of continuity” well conveys that the Second Vatican Council should be seen as the keystone of what came before in light of the inspired development of Sacred Tradition, and not its nemesis. The Holy Father contrasts the hermeneutics of continuity—in which we appreciate the past in light of the conciliar present—with the “hermeneutics of rupture” which would convey the erroneous idea that the Second Vatican Council launches us on such a new direction that substantially disregards the rich Tradition of the Church before the Council.

The identical hermeneutics of continuity must be applied to Mariology and the issue of Marian coredemption. The Second Vatican Council highlights Our Lady’s coredemption in Lumen Gentium 58 and Pope John Paul II does not hesitate to use the Co-redemptrix title and preach repeatedly the Co-redemptrix role after the Council as an organic continuation of the development of Co-redemptrix doctrine which took place before the Council. We must be beware that in Mariology as in all theological fields, a hermeneutics of rupture leads to a erroneous interpretation of both the Council and Tradition which discredits the ongoing actions of the Holy Spirit in the development of the Church which brings us to our present moment of truth and grace for the People of God.

A second objection states that you can call Mary the “Mother of the Redeemer,” but you cannot call her the Co-redemptrix. This is a somewhat undistinguished form of objection, as Mother of the Redeemer and Co-redemptrix can refer to the different dimensions of Our Lady’s roles, but it is not an “either-or” proposition, but a “both-and” doctrinal reality for Our Lady. She is the Mother of the Redeemer, in giving birth to Jesus, and this action is in itself the beginning of her coredemptive role, but it does not stop here, as Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium confirm. Of course she is the Mother of the Redeemer, but Tradition, and the Papal and Conciliar Magisterium teach that after she says “yes” to be the Mother of Jesus, she continues to suffer with Jesus in fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy, that her heart will be pierced by the sword of sorrow, that she is spiritually crucified with her son at Calvary, and, again in John Paul’s words, that her role as Co-redemptrix does not cease with the glorification of her son. So she is Mother of the Redeemer, but she is also Co-redemptrix with the Redeemer. To separate the two would be a false dichotomy; to deny the second would be against the doctrinal integrity of the Church.

A third objection, which is the most common, is that Co-redemptrix title and doctrine is intrinsically anti-ecumenical. I refer you to John Paul II’s encyclical on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint. At times, the term “ecumenism” is employed with a similar type of vagueness and confusion that the term “love” did when it was used in the 1970s. We all use it, but many do not know do not know exactly what it means, and few dare define it fully. Ecumenism has a very specific meaning and John Paul II gives that to us in this document. Authentic Catholic ecumenism consists of prayer as the soul and dialogue as the body which seeks Christian unity ultimately in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church (26). John Paul further warns in Ut Unum Sint that for you may never (under the guise of what would constitute a type of pseudo-ecumenism): 1.) compromise the full doctrine of the Catholic Church; or 2.) prevent the organic development of Church doctrine (27).

Therefore, it would be constitute an erroneous understanding of both authentic ecumenism and of the Co-redemptrix doctrine to hold that the existing Marian doctrine and title, as well as its ongoing contemporary development is somehow contrary to the likewise contemporary imperative for Christian unity and true ecumenical activity by the Church.

In his letter to Pope John Paul II in petition for the fifth Marian dogma, the late Cardinal John O’Connor of New York alludes to the positive contribution of this papal proclamation for true ecumenism, as it would help non-Catholic Christians realize that the Church does in fact distinguish between what is uniquely true of the divine and human Jesus from what is secondarily true of the human Mary in the work of Redemption, taking away any mistaken notion that Catholics place Mary on a level of equality with Jesus Christ.

More recently both Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, who is a previous primate of the Indian Conference of Bishops, and the present primate, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, have published interviews on Zenit News Agency saying that the dogma will be a true step help for interreligious dialogue, and this would include Muslims, Hindus, and Christians (28). These cardinals confirm that the Marian element is already assisting the unity of peoples in India as manifested at major Marian shrines, where Hindus, Muslims and Christians are praying together through their common recognition of Mary as the Mother of unity, and the fifth Marian dogma will all the more facilitate this unity under the Mother of all peoples. The testimony of these cardinals based on real experiences of religious unity through Mary leads us away from mere speculation and offers us concrete examples of how this proclamation will be a unifying factor for authentic religious unity today.

Fruits of the Fifth Marian Dogma

More positively, what are some of the fruits the proclamation of this fifth Marian dogma will provide for the Church and for the world? The first thing it will provide is a theological clarity on the highest level regarding this Marian truth. With our present Holy Father, for example, you have a world class theologian who is respected by all in terms of his theological brilliance. Along with the infallible charism of his office, a solemn definition by Pope Benedict on this doctrine would guarantee the most scripturally grounded and theologically profound articulation of what is already part of our Tradition. How then could greater clarity and the best possible articulation of this revealed Marian truth hurt those of us inside the Church or hurt those outside the Church? It is already a truth. And now you have what Bl. Pius IX called in 1854 a perfection of the doctrine. It’s the clearest articulation possible. That would be its service.

Secondly, the dogma would be a concrete theological corrective to the mistaken concept that the human person is not obliged to cooperate with God’s grace for his own redemption. This revelation, in its essence, compromises a cornerstone of Catholic theology. We must cooperate, through the exercise of our free will, God’s greatest gift of our human nature, in order to receive and sustain the gift of salvific faith. By analogy, if you freely received the gift of a living plant some 10 years ago, but have not watered that plant for 10 years, you can be assured that the gift of the plant given freely and received freely is no longer alive. It is the same thing with Christian faith. If one freely accepted the precious gift of personal faith in Jesus Christ 10 years ago, but has never cooperated with that gift through living in Gospel or participating in the prayer and sacramental life of the Church over the past 10 years, then you can assume the absence of a living, salvific faith. We have to “co-operate,” we must “work-with” grace. The greatest dignity that God the Father gives the human person is the ability through the exercise of freedom to participate with Jesus and Mary in our own redemption, as well as in the redemption of persons. St. Thomas Aquinas refers to the capacity for man to participate in and to suffer for the salvation of others (cf. Col. 1:24) as the “envy” of the angels. The angels cannot suffer in body to lead other souls into heaven, but we as humans can.

Since Mary is the archetype of human cooperation in redemption, in ways beyond any other human being in light of her Immaculate Conception and her unique participation in the acquisition of the graces of redemption, the proclamation of the dogma of the Co-redemptrix would underscore the responsibility of every human person to cooperate in their own salvation and in the salvation of the human family through our sublime use of human freedom.

The papal proclamation of Mary Co-redemptrix would furthermore be an organic clarification and reaffirmation of the dignity of woman. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). God so loved woman that he wanted woman involved in the salvation of all humanity—not a priest, not a bishop, not a pope, but a woman. This is authentic Christian feminism. This is where a woman discovers her mystery, and it is where woman has a proper sense of awe in her femininity, that God has such a deep respect for her that the Father providentially predestines that a woman will work side by side with the man-God in the work of redemption. This is Our Lady, where femininity has its most dignified moment in human history.

Most of all, the proclamation of the fifth Marian dogma will “release” Our Lady and allow her to exercise her full power of maternal intercession for today’s troubled world.

Our Lady’s titles are her functions. The titles of Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate are not just honorary titles, but rather identity her roles of service for humanity. She is the Co-redemptrix, the “Mother suffering.” She is the Mediatrix, the “Mother nourishing.” She is the Advocate, the “Mother pleading.” These are not just honors; they are spiritual actions of our spiritual “mother in the order of grace” (LG 61).

Let us also keep in mind that we do not have three earthly mothers. When our mother suffered for us, and our mother fed us, and our mother interceded for us when we were children, we did not conclude to having three mothers. We had one mother who performed three motherly functions. That is likewise truly of our one spiritual mother, who performs three spiritual and maternal functions on behalf of humanity.

God, being the perfect God, will not break his own rules, and one of his providential rules which governs creation is that he will not force redemptive graces upon humanity. We must freely choose these graces in respect for human freedom. This is why the proclamation of the dogma is so important. This solemn definition would embody the Vicar of Christ, in the name of all humanity, saying yes to these motherly roles for the historic benefit of the entire human family. When the Holy Father, as Vicar of Christ and spiritual father of all humanity, infallibly acknowledges that Mary is Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate, I believe we will see a superabundant release of grace upon a historically unprecedented level.

Is this fifth Marian dogma irrelevant for the needs and troubles of today? Is this something simply for the theologians? Quite the contrary: The common people, the sensus fidelium throughout the world, understand this Marian doctrine and the importance of its proclamation in their hearts. The common people who pray the Rosary, who consecrate themselves and their families to Our Lady, and who wear the scapular already know in their hearts and in their praxis that she is the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. This is why over seven million people from over 150 countries worldwide have petitioned the Holy Father for the fifth Marian dogma now, for our present age in crisis of moral collapse, natural disaster, and war.

We need this Marian dogma for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart which was prophesied at Fatima on July 13, 1917. “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, … and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” This dogma is the key that unlocks the door to the graces and the peace of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

St. Maximilian Kolbe tells us that the Holy Spirit acts only through Mary, his human spouse, in bringing us the first grace of Jesus Christ, and in bringing us all the redemptive graces of Jesus Christ. As the Holy Spirit descended in response to the prayerful intercession of Mary at the first Pentecost, I believe the divine Advocate will do so again in answer to Our Lady’s acknowledgement and prayers for a New Pentecost for our day.

I invite you to ponder the following image, which was given to me by a woman of great prayer. Imagine the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a cage in her heart. Imagine that in that cage is a dove – a dove which represents the Holy Spirit, which is locked in the cage. When the pope proclaims the dogma, it will be like the Vicar of Christ is opening the door to that cage, and the Holy Spirit will come anew upon humanity and with an extraordinary generosity of his gifts.

What will that mean for the world? Grace, redemption, peace, mitigation for our sins, and new graces to deal with world conflicts such as are now happening in China and Myanmar, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, terrorism in the world and terrorism in the womb with abortion, and help bring to an end the great offense through which we blaspheme God the Father in human cloning efforts. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin through a New Pentecost, and that will prepare the way for the new redemption for our age. This is why I believe the proclamation of this dogma is so absolutely relevant to today, to the Church, to the world, to each one of us.

The Lady of All Nations and the Fifth Marian Dogma

I wish finally to speak about the Lady of All Nations and the heavenly call for the fifth Marian dogma. As we know, the movement for the fifth Marian dogma did not start in Amsterdam in 1945 with these profound apparitions; it began in the 1910s with Cardinal Mercier, the great Belgian cardinal. Even before 1920, Cardinal Mercier already had gathered the petitions of hundreds of bishops presented it to the Holy Father for the solemn definition of Our Lady’s universal mediation, which included the doctrine of coredemption. St. Maximilian Kolbe and his new religious followers joined the cause in the early 1920s. And in 1943, the Dutch bishops of this country consecrated the Netherlands to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and used the titles Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate in the document of consecration. Is it little wonder, then, why two years later, Our Lady answered the invitation of the Dutch bishops of this country and came to this land. She is always obedient and joyfully answers invitations that come from the hierarchy of the Church.

Then and only then in 1945 does Our Lady initiate her apparitions which will her unveil her repeated and insistent request for the papal proclamation of her roles as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. Thus, we have heavenly confirmation and a heavenly imperative for the fifth Marian dogma.

While it would be incorrect to say that this Co-redemptrix title and dogma request rests upon the private revelation of Amsterdam rather than upon the public sources of revelation in Scripture and Tradition as interpreted by the Magisterium, it is correct to say that the private revelation of Amsterdam has served as a great confirmation and encouragement for prayer, petitioning, and preaching about the global and historical importance of the fifth Marian dogma. We should be grateful to God and his Mother for the great grace of the apparitions of the Lady of All Nations, which were declared as consisting of supernatural origin by Bishop Josef Maria Punt on May 31, 2002, as the final step in a successive line of positive ecclesiastical developments leading up to the declaration.

Let us refer to just a few of the pregnant passages from the messages of the Lady of All Nations. I begin with a message from May 10, 1953, where Our Lady states that Marian thought must become more pronounced, and it must start here from Amsterdam:

Marian thought must become more pronounced in these times. Amsterdam will become the focus for the Lady of All Nations. There the peoples will get to know the Lady of All Nations and learn to pray to her under this title to obtain unity for themselves, unity among the nations. This image will precede the final Marian dogma. First this image shall in the first place go to Amsterdam.

Here Our Lady calls the people of Amsterdam to be her special carriers of this message and its Marian thought focused upon a new, upcoming Marian dogma. Indeed, you, the people of Amsterdam, are her chosen instruments to bring this message into this world. She came here first. Our Lady brought this message to Amsterdam and entrusts it to you as the instruments for spreading it throughout the world.

On October 11, 1953, The Lady message mentions she is coming to a country that loves peace and calls for the picture of the Lady of All Nations to be placed in a public place before it is permanently located in the eventual “church” of the Lady of all nations:

The Lady, who must bring peace, came and gave her prayer in the country where Satan had reigned. The Lady, who is bringing peace, gave her words through an instrument from a country, where peace was always desired. “The Lady of All Nations” is not destined for one country and one place, but is meant for the whole world, for all nations. This picture will go to Amsterdam, however, and that at the end of 1953. It will be placed in a chapel or church. Later, it will be transferred to the church of “the Lady of All Nations.

It is clear that she wants her picture, the first great painting of her image, in some public place.

In her April 4, 1954, message, Our Lady admonishes the theological community that this doctrine is not something new, has its foundation in the Immaculate Conception, and challenges them to work and fight for this dogma:

“I see the Lady standing with a serious look on her face. ‘Once more I am here, listen well. From the outset, the handmaid of the Lord was chosen to be the Co-redemptrix. Tell that to your theologians that they can find it in all their books. The Lady pauses briefly, then smiling to herself, she says almost in a whisper, I am not bringing a new doctrine, I am bringing old ideas. She waits and continues, ‘because the lady is Co-redemptrix, she is also Mediatrix and Advocate not only because she is mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, but because she is the Immaculate Conception…”

“Theologians I ask you, do you still have objections to this dogma? You can find these words and ideas. I ask you to work for this dogma. No, fear nothing. There will be a clash. The others indeed will attack you, but the complicity of this dogma lies in these last thoughts which Mary, the Lady of All Nations, puts before you today. Do fight and ask for this dogma. It is the crowning of your Lady.”

It is as if Our Lady is encouraging you in a special way, the people of Amsterdam, to be grateful for and defenders of these apparitions, which have been given in a primordial way as a grace to your country. She came here for a reason. She is your Lady. What is true of Jesus that no prophet is acceptable in his own country (cf. Lk 4:24), is perhaps also true for the Queen of Prophets here in our day. But you are in a particular way called upon to stand up for her, as she is truly your “Woman” or “Lady,” from where she seeks to be recognized worldwide as the Lady of All Nations, the Mother of All Peoples.

Finally, in Our Lady’s message of May 31, 1954, which was revealed 54 years ago today, she tells us:

“Here I am again. The Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate is now standing before you. I have chosen this day—on this day the Lady will be crowned. Theologians and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, listen carefully. I have given you the explanation of the dogma. Work for and ask for this dogma. You are to petition the Holy Father for this dogma.”

Then the visionary Ida describes:

Now, all of a sudden, it is as if I were standing with the Lady above the dome of a big church. As we enter, I hear the Lady say, “I am taking you inside this. Relate what I let you see and hear.” We are now in a very big church, in St. Peter’s. I see lots of cardinals and bishops gathered there. Then the Pope enters. He is being carried in a kind of chair, but later he continues on foot. People cheer; the choir begins to sing. Now the Holy Father is announcing something in a language I do not understand, while holding up two fingers. All at once the Lady stands on the globe again. She smiles and says, “Child, thus have I let you see what is the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. This day will become the coronation of His Mother, the Lady of All Nations, who once was Mary.” Now the Lady remains standing without saying anything, as she gazes far into the distance. This lasts a while and then she says, “And the Lady stayed with her Apostles until the Spirit came.” “So also may the Lady come to her apostles and nations throughout the whole world, in order to bring them the Holy Spirit again.”

I believe this refers to both the proclamation of the dogma and New Pentecost we pray for. With that New Pentecost will come the illumination of our souls which leads to new conversion, redemption, and peace.

Our Lady concludes:

“By means of this instrument in a small country which is on the edge of a precipice, the Lady of All Nations will give her motherly admonitions and consolations each year. I am here. I shall assist and help you. The image must be placed in public. Ask this of your bishop. He shall consent to having the image brought forth. He shall consent to the building of the church, the one I showed you. Everyone shall fight for this. … The Lady of All Nations wishes for unity in the true Holy Spirit. The world is covered by a false spirit, by Satan. Once the dogma, the final dogma in Marian history, has been proclaimed, the Lady of All Nations will grant peace, true peace, to the world.”

In conclusion, I would thank the people of Amsterdam for being true disciples of Our Lady, because through your fidelity the worldwide promulgation of the message has to a great degree been fulfilled. I encourage you to continue. The world looks to the people of Amsterdam. Continue doing what you are doing as the special ambassadors of the Lady of All Nations to the world.

Place her image in a public church as she requests, so that when the world visits Amsterdam, they see your manifest love and devotion to her and thereby can do the same in their own countries. Hence pilgrims will be encouraged to continue to spread the devotion, the most valuable prayer, and to pray, work and petition for the proclamation of the dogma.

I believe none of us fully understand what a privilege it is or the comprehensive historical significance of what it means to be working for this Marian dogma. Only in Heaven will we understand the grace to have been chosen in some small way to participate in this dogmatic crowning of Our Lady. I thank you, people of Amsterdam, once again, in the name of the rest of the world’s devotees, for all you have done here for her.

Let us conclude by praying together Our Lady’s revealed prayer which was given especially to prepare the way for this papal proclamation of the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate on this “coronation day” of May 31:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father,
send now your Spirit over the earth.
Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations,
that they may be preserved
from degeneration, disaster and war.
May the Lady of All Nations,
the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.

Notes

(1) John Paul II, L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, November 12, 1984, p. 1.
(2) Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, Personal Interview, Calcutta, August 14, 1993.
(3) John Paul II, Papal Homily at Guayaquil, Ecuador, Jan. 31, 1985.
(4) St. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, vol. 3, ch. 22, n. 4; PG 7, 959.
(5) Cf. Laurentin, Le Titre de Corédemptrice, Etude Historique, Paris, Nouvelles Editions Latines, 1951, p. 11. The original Armenian term is “Pyrgogh.”
(6) Akathist Hymn, Strophe 1; PG 92, 1337 A.
(7) John Paul II, General Audience, Oct. 25, 1995, n. 2; L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, Nov. 1, 1995, p. 11.
(8) Litanies des saintes, in a Psalter of French origin preserved in the chapter library of the Cathedral of Salisbury, Parchment 173, fol. in double columns, 0.39×0.32 m. Manuscript number l80, fol. 171 v., b, Edited by F.E. Warren, “An Unedited Monument of Celtic Liturgy” in Celtic Review, 9, 1888, pp. 88-96.
(9) Cf. For example, Laurentin, Le Titre de Corédemptrice, p. 12.
(10) Arnold of Chartres; PL 189, 1693 B.
(11) Cf. Laurentin, Le Titre de Corédemptrice, p. 15, note 51; “quod in carne Christi agebant clavi et lancea, hoc in ejus mente compassio naturalis”; PL 189, 1731 B.
(12) Arnold of Chartres; PL 189, 1693 B.
(13) Orat. ms S. Petri Slaisburgens., saec. XV; Codex Petrin. a, III, 20 and Orat. ms S. Petri saec. XIV, XV; Codex Petrin. a, I, 20, quoted by G. M. Dreves, Analecta hymnica medii aevi, Leipzig, Reisland, t. 46, 1905, p. 126, n. 79. The original Latin is as follows:

20. Pia dulcis et benigna, Nullo prorsus luctu digna, Si fletum hinc eligeres, Ut compassa redemptori, Captivato transgressori, Tu corredemptrix fieres.
21. Tunc non tantum condolere, Moestae matri se debere, Me cerno grates solvere, Tibi meae redemptrici, Quae de manu inimici, Dignatur me evolvere.

(14) Alphonsus Salmerón, Commentarii in Evangel., tr. 5, Opera, Cologne, ed., Hiérat, 1604, t. III, pp. 37b- 38a.
(15) Cf. Carol, De Corredemptione, pp. 198-480.
(16) For extended treatments of coredemption under the same four classic soteriological categories, cf. Gregory Alastruey, The Blessed Virgin Mary, English translation of the original by Sr. M. J. La Giglia, O.P., Herder, 1964, ch. 2; Friethoff, O.P., A Complete Mariology, Blackfriars, 1958, English translation of Dutch original, Part III, ch. I-V; specifically during this seventeenth century period in its four traditional categories; Carol, “Our Lady’s Coredemption,” Mariology vol. 2, Bruce, 1957, pp. 400-409.
(17) Ven. John Cardinal Newman, Certain Difficulties Felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching Considered, vol. 2, In a Letter Addressed to the Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D., On Occasion of His Eirenicon of 1864, Longman’s, Green and Co., 1891, vol. 2, p. 78.
(18) Cf. Stemman, “Il mistero di Maria ‘Corredentrice,’” p. 269. The original Latin text is as follows: “Vere coram Deo et Deiparae Virgini, interposita sacramenti fide, me obstrinxi in obsequium Corredemptricis humani generis, disponendi omnes ratione vitae meae iuxta oboedientiam meorum superiorum in redemptionem Orientalium Dissidentium a schismate et errore.” St. Leopold Mandic, Scritti, vol. 2, p. 97.
(19) Pius XI, L’Osservatore Romano, December 1, 1933, p. 1.
(20) Cf. Calkins, “The Mystery of Mary Coredemptrix in the Papal Magisterium,” Mary Co-redemptrix: Doctrinal Issue Today, Queenship, 2002, pp. 25-92.
(21) John Paul II, L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, March 11, 1985, p. 7. The Guayaquil homily by the Vicar of Christ should not be dismissed as either marginal or devoid of doctrinal weight. Unfortunately, these were the expressions used to describe the significance of the repeated papal usages of the title of Co-redemptrix by Pope John Paul II, as contained in an unsigned article which appeared in L’Osservatore Romano on June 4, 1997. This article accompanied the brief conclusion of an ad hoc ecumenical committee of theologians (sixteen Catholic and five non-Catholic), who met at the 1996 Czestochowa Marian Conference to study the possibility of a dogmatic definition of Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate (a meeting estimated by the committee members to have lasted less than one hour). Although the ad hoc committee members later stated that they were not informed that they were in any way acting as an official “papal commission,” their conclusions were nonetheless published some ten months later in L’Osservatore Romano as the conclusions of a “commission established by the Holy See” and released as a “Declaration of the Theological Commission of the Congress of the Pontifical International Marian Academy” (L’Osservatore Romano, June 4, 1997), cf. Miravalle, In Continued Dialogue with the Czestochowa Commission (Queenship, 2002).
(22) Benedict XVI, Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for the Sixteenth World Day of the Sick, February 11, 2008, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
(23) Our Sufferings are also Christ’s Sufferings, Vatican Information Services, February 11, 2008.
(24) Prayer of the Pope to Our Lady of Sheshan, Vatican Information Services, May 16, 2008.
(25) Insegnamenti di Benedetto XVI I (2005) 1023-1031.
(26) Cf. Ut Unum Sint, 21, 28.
(27) Cf. Ut Unum Sint, 18.
(28) Cf. “Fifth Dogma a Marian Antidote: Interview with Syro-Malabar Cardinal Vithayathil,” Zenit News Service, May 21, 2008, http://www.zenit.org/article-22649?l=english; and “Cardinal Toppo on a Proposed Marian Dogma: A Look at What It Could Mean for Dialogue,” Zenit News Service, May 5, 2008, http://www.zenit.org/article-22499?l=english.

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During his March 30, 2011 Wednesday audience address on St. Alphonsus Liguori, Pope Benedict referred to the Marian titles of “Partner of the Redemption, Mediatrix of Grace, Mother, Queen, and Advocate” in discussing Our Lady’s roles in salvation according to the great Italian 18^th century Mariologist and Doctor of the Church.

The fact that the Holy Father would highlight these particular Marian titles in light of the ongoing international prayer and petition drive for the solemn definition of Our Lady as spiritual Mother of All Peoples, Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate appears to be some form of positive encouragement. As one theologian commented, “If the Holy Father didn’t want to encourage the movement for the solemn definition of these titles, he certainly could have summarized the Mariology of St. Alphonsus by simply making a more general reference to Liguori’s contribution in the area of Marian Mediation.”

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FATIMA, Portugal, MAY 12, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is an excerpt from the Vatican translation of the Act of Entrustment and Consecration of Priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, prayed today by Benedict XVI at the conclusion of the celebration of vespers with the religious, seminarians and diocesan priests at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Fatima. The encounter was dedicated to the priesthood in this Year for Priests.

“May the Church Be Thus Renewed by Priests Who Are Holy” 

Immaculate Mother,
in this place of grace,
called together by the love of your Son Jesus
the Eternal High Priest, we,
sons in the Son and his priests,
consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart,
in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will…

…Mother of the Church,
we priests want to be pastors
who do not feed themselves
but rather give themselves to God for their brethren,
finding their happiness in this.
Not only with words, but with our lives,
we want to repeat humbly,
day after day,
Our “here I am”.

Guided by you,
we want to be Apostles
of Divine Mercy,
glad to celebrate every day
the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar
and to offer to those who request it
the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace,
you who are fully immersed
in the one universal mediation of Christ,
invoke upon us, from God,
a heart completely renewed
that loves God with all its strength
and serves mankind as you did….

Click here for the complete Vatican translation.

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As early as the fourth century, St. Augustine had recognized the responsibility of scientists, and in Book Five of his Confessions, he criticizes them thus:

I have learned from Augustine and today this scientist is attempting to redress that situation. In an attempt to understand the mystery of Mary, apart from the Gospel narratives, both old and new, I researched the mystics who had been privileged to have been given the life of the Blessed Virgin and her Son. One such mystic, the Venerable Maria de Jesus de Agreda, a seventeenth century Franciscan nun, wrote a monumental four-volume history of the life of the Blessed Virgin, La Ciudad de Dios (The City of God).

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As the doctrine of Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate comes closer to being dogmatically defined, one naturally considers the implication of such a definition. Throughout the ages, Marian dogmas have come at times when certain aspects of the faith needed to be clearly defined and understood for the good of the entire Church. They have also enabled Mary to work in the ways in which she is known – for instance, she did not call herself the “Immaculate Conception” until Lourdes, after the dogma had already been defined.

The definition of Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate and Queen is significant for many reasons, but especially because this dogma would define Mary’s relationship to us. The others define aspects of her life and being, but this one has implications that might hit closer to home for many. For this reason, consider what it means to have a mother and model woman for the world. What can all mankind learn from her? How can her role and very being actually change our lives? Specifically as a woman, Mary’s life should be a real example for Catholic women (and women of the world) about true womanhood and femininity.

With the rise of feminism in the past century, many women’s concepts of femininity have become twisted and skewed. It is even more unsettling to see it popping up in Catholic feminism, ultimately creating division in the Church and confusing the sexes. This article will examine the aspects of this Catholic feminism, and how Mary as Co-redemptrix answers and corrects those aspects – what her example means for womanhood, femininity and the Church and her preservation. A brief examination of the doctrine of Mary’s coredemption will begin the essay, followed by a survey of Catholic feminism, followed by another look at feminism in light of Mary, arriving at a truer understanding of womanhood.

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Man can hardly be defined, after the fashion of Carlyle, as an animal who makes tools; ants and beavers and many other animals make tools, in the sense that they make an apparatus. Man can be defined as an animal that makes dogmas. As he piles doctrine on doctrine and conclusion on conclusion in the formation of some tremendous scheme of philosophy and religion, he is, in the only legitimate sense of which the expression is capable, becoming more and more human. When he drops one doctrine after another in a refined scepticism, when he declines to tie himself to a system, when he says that he has outgrown definitions, when he says that he disbelieves in finality, when, in his own imagination, he sits as God, holding no form of creed but contemplating all, then he is by that very process sinking slowly backwards into the vagueness of the vagrant animals and the unconsciousness of the grass. Trees have no dogmas. Turnips are singularly broad-minded.

— G.K. Chesterton, Heretics.

First there was the definition of Mary as Mother of God in 431. Then came the final proclamation of her Perpetual Virginity at the Third Council of Constantinople in 681. And then, over a thousand years later, the Church defined her Immaculate Conception followed nearly a hundred years later by the definition of her Assumption into Heaven. Now, as we begin the next millennium, we learn that over 500 bishops, 40 cardinals and over six million of the faithful around the world—following in the footsteps of Cardinal Mercier, St. Maximilian Kolbe and countless others throughout this past century—have petitioned the Holy Father to define as dogma the triad doctrine that Mary is Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate for the People of God.

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The following presentation was made by Bishop Baseotto of Argentina at the Inside the Vatican Marian “Day of Dialogue” which was held in Rome on March 25, 2010. – Asst. Ed.

Almost two thirds of those who in the world acclaim Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate express it in Spanish. In some way I address myself on their behalf. In Latin America, close to three hundred bishops have asked for the proclamation of the Fifth Dogma, as well as about five million faithful who have signed the request, together with forty cardinals of our Holy Church who have expressed themselves in this sense. To these it should also be added those forty-two Mexican Bishops who in 1954 asked for it and many others who added their plea during the years.
For this reason I have the sensation of being like a small cork cradled by the waves of a sea without frontiers. The cork is impregnated with the sea salt, the taste of the seaweed…and is carried by the waves. Not like the plastic cap that I have in hand which does not absorb what is in its surroundings. That sea is the Church, God’s people, extended over the centuries and across the world.

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The following  presentation was recently given at the Inside the Vatican Day of Dialog on the Feast of the Annunciation. -Asst. Ed.

Archbishop A. M. Chinnappa DD, SDB
Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, India
25. 03. 2010
Feast of Annunciation, Rome

1. Why this is precisely the appropriate time to solemnly declare the fifth Marian Dogma?

Introduction

The development of the doctrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Spiritual Mother of all humanity has its origins in Scripture and in the ancient Church. At Calvary with the words of the crucified Saviour to Mary and to John, “Woman, behold your Son… Behold your Mother” (Jn 19: 26-27), Jesus gives all humanity his mother to be, as the Second Vatican Council clearly teaches, “a mother to us in the order of grace” (Lumen Gentium, 61). The early Church saw the Mother of the Lord as the “New Eve”, the woman who uniquely cooperated with Jesus in the work of Salvation. By the second century, St. Ireneaus declared of Our Lady that through her obedience, she became “the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race” (Ad. Haer. III).
The co-redemptrix doctrine continues to develop with major contributions from the Byzantine monk, John the Geometer (10th Century) and St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his disciple Arnold of Chartres (12th Century) with the understanding of Mary “co-dying” and being “co-crucified” with Jesus, and the inseparability of Son and Mother in the work of Redemption. By the 14th century, the term “co-redemptrix” is being used to express the unique though entire secondary and subordinate participation of Mary with Jesus in his historic work of redemption. Even the great Tridentine theologian, Alphonsus Salmeron defended the Marian titles of Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate back in 16th Century. The general role of “Spiritual Mother” and the specific titles of Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate constitute authentically Catholic titles that are undeniable part of our rich Catholic Tradition.

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The  two articles which follow, by Bishop Joseph Danlami Bagobiri and Dr. Judith Gentle, were recently presented, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, in Rome at the Inside the Vatican Forum’s Marian Day of Dialog on the Fifth Marian Dogma. - Ed. 

“THE SENSUS FIDELIUM” of Mary Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate of the People of God – a Nigerian Perspective of the Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici Movement 

Since the launching of the “Voice of the People for Mary Mediatrix” in May 1993, as a popular movement of the People of God from the five continents of the world praying and petitioning the Vicar of Christ to papally define the fifth Marian Dogma of Our Lady as “the spiritual Mother of all Peoples”, in her three motherly roles as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate, a lot of good things have been happening in the Church and in the world as a result of this endeavour. I became a part of this movement not long after assumption of Episcopal responsibility for the See of Kafanchan in 1995 and had participated in two international conferences devoted to in-depth  theological reflection on the proposed dogma in Rome 1997, and at Fatima in 2005. I am particularly edified by the contribution of this movement to the enrichment of the content of Mariology and consequently, vibrant Faith-life in the church. I am also very happy with the prospects that this holds for the Church both now and in the future. My contribution therefore at this “Day of Dialogue” is not going to be theological in nature (because a lot has been achieved already as seen in the two volumes on Thelogical Fundations for the definition of the Dogma). Rather, I wish to share the joy and appreciation of many on this dogma, which I personally experienced each time I was invited to make a presentation on this topic during Marian conferences (at diocesan and regional level) or at the celebrations of some of the Liturgical feasts in honour of Our Lady.

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In light of recent positive advancements towards the international movement for a fifth Marian dogma of Our Lady as the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate, we here provide the following brief work describing the fundamental elements of Our Lady’s role and the reasons why over 500 bishops and  over 7 million faithful believe now is the right time to crown Our Lady with this fifth Marian dogma.

-Ed.

Do we find support for the proposed Dogma of Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate in Scripture?

The Redemption

The salvation of humanity was accomplished by God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The Passion and Death of Christ, our sole Redeemer, was not only sufficient but “superabundant” satisfaction for human guilt and the consequent debt of punishment. But God willed that this work of salvation be accomplished through the collaboration of a woman, while always respecting her free will. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4).

Co-redemptrix in Scripture

Permeating Scripture is God’s revelation that his plan of redemption will involve, first and foremost, the collaboration of two persons: the “woman” and her “seed.” This is first revealed in the book of Genesis: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: she shall crush your head…” (Gen. 3:15). This passage of Scripture prophetically foreshadows Mary with her divine Son in the promise of victory over the serpent. It reveals God’s will that the “woman” share in the same “enmity” (absolute opposition) between herself and the serpent as does her “seed,” Jesus Christ. This great struggle and victory over the serpent foreshadows the divine work of redemption by Jesus Christ, with the Mother of the Redeemer’s intimate collaboration in his saving work.

This “collaboration” or “co-operation” or “participation” of the Mother of Jesus with her Son in the redemptive work of salvation is referred to in the Church as “Marian coredemption,” or more specifically, Mary is referred to as “the Co-redemptrix with the Redeemer.” It always remains a secondary and subordinate participation, and never puts her on a level of equality with the one Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and takes absolutely nothing away from her  Son’s glory. God chooses to give man a share in his attributes and his works. Since God is infinite, his sharing of himself does not reduce his glory, but rather lets it shine forth more respledently.

The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) announces the great work of salvation, and it also discloses the involvement of two persons: the Redeemer and the Mother of the Redeemer. The Virgin is called to give her free and full consent to conceive this child. She is not merely a passive recipient of the message, but she was given an active role, and heaven awaited her free choice. It is precisely by her free consent to collaborate in God’s saving plan that she becomes the Co-redemptrix.

The prophecy of Simeon to Mary, “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:25), affirms Mary’s unique participation in the work of redemption, as it warns her that she will undergo an unspeakable pain that will pierce her soul, for the salvation of mankind.

John 19:25 tells us of Jesus’ Mother at the very foot of the cross, persevering with her Son in his worst hour of agony, and therein suffering the death of her Son. Thus in her own suffering too, the Mother of the Redeemer participates in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. That is “Marian coredemption,” most perfectly embodied in the term “Co-redemptrix.”

In God’s mysterious and merciful providence, he willed not only that man would be redeemed by the Blood of Christ, but that man would also be given a share in Jesus’ redemptive mission. As our “goodness” does not make God less good, neither does Mary’s share in God’s redemptive plan take away from Jesus’ unique role as Redeemer.

In a 1985 address at the Marian shrine in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Pope John Paul II said:

“Mary goes before us and accompanies us. The silent journey that begins with her Immaculate Conception and passes through the ‘yes’ of Nazareth, which makes her the Mother of God, finds on Calvary a particularly important moment. There also, accepting and assisting at the sacrifice of her son, Mary is the dawn of Redemption….Crucified spiritually with her crucified son (cf. Gal. 2:20), she contemplated with heroic love the death of her God, she ‘lovingly consented to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth’ (Lumen Gentium, 58)….In fact, at Calvary she united herself with the sacrifice of her Son that led to the foundation of the Church; her maternal heart shared to the very depths the will of Christ ‘to gather into one all the dispersed children of God’ (Jn. 11:52). Having suffered for the Church, Mary deserved to become the Mother of all the disciples of her Son, the Mother of their unity….In fact, Mary’s role as Co-redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son” (InsegVBUl (1985)318-319 [ORE 876:7]).

We call Mary the Co-redemptrix because her whole life was a sharing in the redemptive mission of her Son, which reached its climax at the foot of the Cross at Calvary. Truly at Calvary, the Mother of Jesus becomes, through her suffering with the Redeemer, the Mother of all peoples.

Mediatrix in Scripture

Jesus is the sole mediator between God and man (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5), but all Christians are called to participate in the one mediation of Jesus Christ. All the baptized participate in Christ’s mediation by our prayers for one another. In our works of charity and evangelization we “mediate” Christ to others. The Blessed Virgin Mary was asked by God to take her part in her divine Son’s mediation in a unique and privileged way, like no other creature.

The title “Mediatrix of all Graces” is appropriate for Mary simply by the fact that she gave Jesus his human nature. In accepting the invitation to be his Mother, she becomes the “God-bearer” and thereby mediates to us Jesus Christ, author of all graces. Therefore, the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) is an event of mediation on the part of Our Lady, as she finds herself “in the middle,” that is, between God and us. She, alone, freely chooses whether she will or will not give flesh to the second person of the Trinity.

“Mediatrix of all graces” is also a fitting title for the Blessed Virgin in light of Luke 1:41, where the physical presence of Mary mediates grace to the unborn John the Baptist, by bringing to John the presence of the unborn Redeemer, resulting in the sanctifica-tion of the Baptist.

At the Wedding of Cana (cf. John 2:1-11), we again see Mary’s mediation, and, most significantly, we see the effects of her mediation: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11).

As our Lord was dying on the Cross, he gives to his Virgin Mother the new role of Mother of all Christians: “Woman, behold, your son!…Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26). At the Lord’s command the Blessed Virgin becomes Mother of all Christians (and universally, the Mother of all peoples), and therein is called to exercise her supernatural duties as our spiritual Mother. This surely means that she will have the task of nourishing her children, and she does this by mediating the graces of the Redemption from Christ to mankind. Therefore, she is “Mediatrix of all Graces.”

Advocate in Scripture

The scriptural use of the term “advocate” literally means “called in to help.” Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are “Advocates” with the Father in the plan of human salvation; Jesus redeems us, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. We say that Mary is Advocate because she always intercedes for us by praying to Jesus Christ her Son on our behalf.

Scripture manifests the Mother of Jesus’ role in God’s plan of salvation as Advocate for the needs of the human family.

In the Old Testament, the great “Queen Mother” tradition manifests the role of the mother of the Davidic King as the chief Advocate for the people of Israel to her son, the king (cf. 1 Kings 2:19). This beautifully foreshadows the role of Mary as Advocate, for when Jesus Christ, the King of kings, enters human history, so too, does Mary become the New Testament “Queen Mother” as chief Advocate for the People of God.

Mary was our Advocate at the Annunciation, when she agreed to participate, on our behalf, in God’s plan of salvation for the human family (cf. Luke 1:26-38).

Our Lady also manifested her advocacy at the wedding of Cana (cf. Jn. 2:1-11). She intercedes for a specific need of the people at the wedding, and as Advocate she succeeds in obtaining from her Son their needs (cf. Jn. 2:8-10). Referring to this Scripture passage, Pope John Paul II says that Mary is the “spokeswoman of her Son’s will,” and “She knows…she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she has the ‘right’ to do so” (cf. Redemptoris Mater, n. 21).

At Pentecost, Mary intercedes “in prayer” as our Advocate for the coming of the Holy Spirit, our divine Advocate (cf. Acts 1:14).

In John 19:26, Mary is given to us as Mother. As Mother of all Christians she again exercises her role as Advocate for God’s people, a role that does not cease after her Assumption into heaven. Vatican II states: “By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home” (Lumen Gentium, n. 62.)

Do we find support for this proposed Dogma in the faith of the early Church?

Co-redemptrix in the early Church

Mary’s coredemptive role with our Lord in the work of redemption emerges as an important theme in the early Church, beginning with Sts. Justin and Irenaeus in the second century. They used the image of the “New Adam” (Jesus) and the “New Eve” (Mary): The life of grace that the first Adam and the first Eve had jointly lost for mankind, was jointly restored by the New Adam and the New Eve. The virgin Eve, through her disobedience to the Father, interiorly cooperated with Adam in the sin that lost the life of grace for the human family (cf. Gen 3:6); the Virgin Mary, in her obedience to the Father (cf. Lk 1:38), interiorly cooperated with

Jesus Christ, the New Adam, in the salvation of the human family through his redemption.

Mary’s unequaled participation in the redemption of the human race as the New Eve was the universal Christian teaching in the early Church. In fact, the great Patristic scholar, John Henry Newman, said that “by the time of St. Jerome (331-420), the contrast between Eve and Mary had almost passed into a proverb.” St. Jerome had remarked: “PerEvam mors, perMariam vita ” (“Death through Eve, Life through Mary”).

Mediatrix in the early Church

By the fourth century, the Church Fathers manifested a profound understanding of Mary’s function as Mediatrix. In reference to the Blessed Virgin, St. Ephraem (373) said: “With the Mediator, you are the Mediatrix of the entire world” (S. Ephraem, Syri opera graeca et latine, ed., Assemani, v. 3, Romae, pp. 525, 528-9, 532). St. Cyril of Alexandria, in one of the greatest Marian sermons of antiquity, said: “Hail Mary Theotokos, venerable treasure of the whole world…it is you through whom the Holy Trinity is glorified and adored,…through whom the tempter, the devil is cast down from heaven, through whom the fallen creature is raised up to heaven, through whom all creation, once imprisoned by idolatry, has reached knowledge of the truth, through whom holy baptism has come to believers…through whom nations are brought to repentance….” (Horn, in Deiparam, PG 65, p.681). Antipater of Bostra, another Father of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431), wrote: “Hail you who acceptably intercede as a Mediatrix for mankind.”

St. Andrew of Crete, St. John Damascene, St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. Peter Damian, St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Bernardine of Siena all spoke either explicitly of Mary as Mediatrix of all Graces or of Marian mediation. Such citations became ever more frequent by numerous Doctors of the Church, mystics, saints, and writers throughout the Middle Ages up to the modern era. St. Bernard of Clairvaux stated: “God has willed that we should have nothing which would not pass through the hands of Mary” (Horn. Ill in vig. nativit., n. 10, PL 183, 100).

Advocate in the early Church

The early Church was quick to confirm Mary’s role as Advocate in God’s plan of salvation. By the second century, St. Irenaeus had said: “And whereas Eve had disobeyed God, Mary was persuaded to obey God, that the Virgin Mary might become advocate (advocatd) of the virgin Eve” (Adversus Haereses V, C. 19, 1). St. Ephraem called Mary the “friendly advocate of sinners” (S. Ephraem Syri testim. de B.V.M. mediatione, Ephermerides Theologicae Lovanienses, IV, fasc. 2, 1927). Other Fathers of the Church referring to Mary’s advocacy were St. Germanus of Constantinople, Saint Romanes the Singer, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

It should also be noted that ancient Marian prayers manifested a confidence in Mary’s power of maternal intercession in difficult times for her spiritual children in faith. One such prayer was the Sub Tuum (3rd century): “We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all danger, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin.”

Mary’s advocacy in no way implies that we cannot pray directly to God ourselves; moreover, Jesus himself taught us to pray to “Our Father” in heaven. Notwithstanding, Christians have long known the powerful intercession of Our Lady before God, and therefore have invoked the Mother of Jesus to unite her prayers with her children’s ever since the early days of the Church, as can be seen with the Sub Tuum prayer.

What is the rationale for this Dogma?

The Council Fathers of Vatican II state manifestly that their treatment of the Mother of Jesus does not constitute a “complete doctrine on Mary,” for such was not their intention. The need for greater theological clarification and development in order to complete the doctrine on Mary is therefore acknowledged by Vatican II (cf. Lumen Gentium, n.54).

The body of Marian dogma will remain incomplete until the Church presents a dogma directly defining the nature of Mary’s role with the Redeemer in the work of our salvation, and her relationship to us as Mother of all Christians. The first four Marian Dogmas define the truths that identified Our Lady’s personal gifts and prerogatives (Mother of God, Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception, Glorious Assumption). We have yet to define the full truth about the Mother of the Redeemer in her relationship with us, the Church, and of her participation in the redemption at the service of the Church.

In addition, this Marian Dogma will have great benefits for the Church, particularly with respect to each person’s relationship with the Mother of the Redeemer. The definition will provide a critically needed dogmatic foundation for the influx of contemporary Marian devotion, that without a dogmatic basis runs the danger of the devotional extremes of either “false exaggeration” or “too summary an attitude” (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 67). Authentic love of Mary in the order of devotion must be firmly founded upon the truth about Mary in the order of dogma.

We also have today the very rich Marian teaching of the present Pontiff, Pope John Paul II, with particular attention given to Mary’s coredemption and mediation. We have the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on Marian coredemption and mediation clearly manifested in Lumen Gentium, nn. 56-62. In addition, these same doctrinal truths are present in the rich tradition of the papal magisterium of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Added to this are the many distinguished voices from within the Church calling for the solemn definition, including over 500 bishops, 44 cardinals, and approximately 4.8 million petitions from the Catholic faithful of 157 countries in six continents of the world.

As there is a great outpouring of grace following every dogma of the Church, the solemn proclamation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces, and Advocate will also be an occasion of great graces for the Church and the world from her who is truly the Mother of all peoples. These titles, which are doctrinally established, should be proclaimed as a dogma for the greater glory and honor of God, for the increase reverence and honor due to his mother, and for the increase in our own disposition to receive grace from God.

Lastly, we must ask ourselves this most appropriate question as we arrive at the threshold of the Third Millennium: How can we properly celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord in the year 2000 without properly honoring the woman and Mother who made it possible?

Does the designation of Mary as Co-redemptrix or Mediatrix of all Graces detract from the uniqueness and all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer and the one Mediator?

Jesus Christ as true God and true man redeems the human family, while Mary as Co-redemptrix participates with the Redeemer in his one perfect Sacrifice in a completely subordinate and dependent way. The key word here is “participation” in that which is exclusively true of Jesus Christ. The title “Co-redemptrix” never puts Mary on a level of equality with our Lord; rather, it refers to Mary’s unique and intimate participation with her divine Son in the work of redemption. “Co-redemptrix” is a Latin word; the prefix “co” in the title, “Co-redemptrix,” derives from the Latin word “cum,” which means “with,” not “equal to.” Mary’s sufferings are efficacious towards the redemption of man because they are wholly rooted in the redemptive graces of Christ and are perfectly united to His redeeming will. 

Similarly, as Mediatrix, the Mother of Jesus does not “rival” Christ’s mediation but rather participates in the one mediation of Jesus Christ. Imagine water from a reservoir reaching the people through a system of aqueducts or channels. By analogy, Jesus is the infinite “reservoir” of all grace, which is destributed to us through Mary. Jesus, the one mediator, does not exclude secondary, subordinate mediators. In Pope John Paul IFs Wednesday audience of October 1, 1997, the Pope addressed this very issue:

“Mary’s maternal mediation does not obscure the unique and perfect mediation of Christ. Indeed, after calling Mary ‘Mediatrix’, the Council is careful to explain that this ‘neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator’ (Lumen gentium, n.62)….In addition, the Council states that ‘Mary’s function as Mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power’ (Lumen gentium, n.60).

“Therefore, far from being an obstacle to the exercise of Christ’s unique mediation, Mary instead highlights its fruitfulness and efficacy….In proclaiming Christ the one mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2:5-6), the text of St. Paul’s Letter to Timothy excludes any other parallel mediation, but not subordinate mediation. In fact, before emphasizing the one exclusive mediation of Christ, the author urges ‘that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men’ (2:1). Are not prayers a form of mediation? Indeed, according to St. Paul, the unique mediation of Christ is meant to encourage other dependent, ministerial forms of mediation. By proclaiming the uniqueness of Christ’s mediation, the Apostle intends only to exclude any autonomous or rival mediation, and not other forms compatible with the infinite value of the Saviour’s work.

“In fact, ‘just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold co-operation which is but a sharing in this one source’ (Lumen gentium, n.62)….In truth, what is Mary’s maternal mediation if not the Father’s gift to humanity?” (Pope John Paul II, lOct. 1997).

What effect will this Dogma have on ecumenism?

The goal of authentic Catholic ecumenism, as Pope John Paul II reminds us in Ut Unum Sint, n. 77, is to restore full visible unity among all Christians in the fullness of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith: “The greater mutual understanding and the doctrinal convergences already achieved between us, which have resulted in an affective and effective growth of communion, cannot suffice for the conscience of Christians who profess that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. The ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement is to re-establish full visible unity among all the baptized.”

In the domain of ecumenism, this ultimate ecumenical goal serves as the proper criterion by which we must judge the legitimacy, or lack thereof, of a proposed new Marian Dogma. The fullness of Catholic doctrinal truth, which necessarily includes the full truth about Mary, far from being an obstacle to ecumenism, is in fact the very foundation of real Christian unity. Any understanding of ecumenism as requiring, or even encouraging, a reduction or minimization of the doctrinal truth defined and taught by the Church, which necessarily includes the domain of Marian doctrine, can only be considered a regrettable species of “pseudo-ecumenism.” As such, it ironically becomes the actual obstacle to authentic and perduring Christian unity because it decimates the very foundation of ultimate ecumenical success.

Pope John Paul II writes: “Full communion of course will have to come about through the acceptance of the whole truth into which the Holy Spirit guides Christ’s disciples. Hence all forms of reduc-tionism or facile ‘agreement’ must be absolutely avoided” (Ut Unum Sint, n.36); and further: “The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety. In matters of faith, compromise is in contradiction with God who is Truth. In the Body of Christ, ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6), who could consider legitimate a reconciliation brought about at the expense of the truth?” (Ut Unum Sint, n. 18); and again: “To uphold a vision of unity which takes account of all the demands of revealed truth does not mean to put a brake on the ecumenical movement. On the contrary, it means preventing it from settling for apparent solutions which would lead to no firm and solid results. The obligation to respect the truth is absolute. Is this not the law of the Gospel?” (cf. Ut Unum Sint, n. 79; cf. Address to the Cardinals and Roman Curia (June 28,1985),6A4S 77 (1985), 1153).

A precise dogmatic formulation of this Marian Dogma would certainly distinguish the secondary and subordinate coredemptive role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the work of salvation from the  unique redemptive triumph of the Savior, a distinction sometimes perceived as lacking in Catholic theology and piety by other Christians. This immediate ecumenical benefit to a solemn definition is neatly summed up in a letter endorsing the potential Dogma from John Cardinal O’Connor of New York: “Clearly, a formal definition would be articulated in such precise terminology that other Christians would lose their anxiety that we do not distinguish adequately between Mary’s unique association with the redemption and the redemptive power exercised by Christ alone.”

True ecumenism, which is founded on prayer and fraternal charity, necessarily involves understanding each others’ position. Since this Dogma does not introduce any new doctrine, we must hope that it would lead to an increase in mutual understanding of truths which already exist.

The Catholic quest for this new Marian Dogma is eminently ecumenical. It seeks to acknowledge and to utilize Our Lady’s full power of mediation as Mother of the Christian family precisely to unite us, her children, in the one Body of Christ.

What does the Magisterium of the Church think of the proposal for this Dogma?

There have not been any official statements in the magisterium of the present Pontiff specifically referring to if or when he will declare this Dogma, nor should we expect such a statement until the Vicar of Christ is ready to make one. Yet, the Holy Father’s very extensive catecheses on Marian coredemption, mediation, and advocacy gives to those proposing the Dogma the encouragement and the impetus to continue their efforts in having these selfsame Marian prerogatives defined as dogma.

In fact, the Christian faithful are encouraged by the Holy Father to continue their role in the progress of Marian doctrine:

“Mariology is a particular field of theological research: in it the Christian people’s love for Mary intuited, frequently in anticipation, certain aspects of the mystery of the Blessed Virgin, calling the attention of theologians and pastors to them….As Mariology develops, the particular role of the Christian people emerges. They co-operate, by the affirmation and witness of their faith, in the progress of Marian doctrine, which normally is not only the work of theologians, even if their task is indispensable to deepening and clearly explaining the datum of the faith and the Christian experience itself (Pope John Paul II, L’Osservatore Romano, weekly English edition, 15 November 1995, p. 11).

In June of 1997, a theological commission issued a negative opinion on the possibility of defining a dogma on Mary’s maternal mediation. The commission was composed of fifteen Catholic theologians and additional non-Catholic theologians, including an Anglican, a Lutheran, and three Orthodox. Several of the commission’s conclusions were corrected by John Paul II in his Wednesday audiences of 24 September and 1 October 1997. Although the Pope did not refer directly to the commission, his teachings were in stark contrast with its conclusions.

We also know from recent Church history that several theological advisory commissions requested by the Holy See have come to conclusions which ultimately were not adopted by the Holy See. The most radical example was the theological commission requested by the Holy See to examine the question of artificial birth control, the conclusion of which was overridden by Pope Paul VI when he reaffirmed the constant Church teaching against artificial birth control in his 1968 Encyclical, Humanae Vitae.

A far more comprehensive and thorough investigation into the theological possibilities of this Marian Dogma was conducted by another international association of theologians and mariologists, spanning several continents, many countries, and three communities of Christianity. Their findings were in favor of a definition and have been published in two theological volumes dedicated to the question of the Maternal Mediation of Mary: Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate: Theological Foundations, Towards A Papal Definition?, and Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate: Theological Foundations II, Papal, Pneumatological, Ecumenical (1995 and 1997 respectively, Queenship Publishing, Santa Barbara, CA).

In 1997 a flurry of conflicting reports appeared in the media in response to an August 18 statement of Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Vails regarding this possible Marian Dogma. Kenneth L. Woodward, Religion Editor of Newsweek magazine, corrects the inaccurate reports of the so-called “official announcement” from the Holy See that the Pope will not proclaim the dogma: “First, no one at the Vatican has publicly said he won’t. The firmest statement from that quarter is this single sentence faxed to Newsweek, in reply to my query, by Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Vails, director of the Holy See Press Office and received after the Newsweek article was published: ‘There is no study underway at this moment in time by the Holy Father Pope John Paul II or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the subject of the possibility of a papal definition on this theme.’”

Some editorials took that statement to mean that the Pope “will not define the dogma.” Somehow the press interpreted the words “no study underway at this moment in time” to imply “will not define the dogma.” That distinction is critical because the latter (the media’s interpretation) connotes that a decision by the Holy Father has already been reached, whereas the former (the Vatican’s statement) simply states that the issue is not under study “at this moment in time.”

It remains the mission of Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici to do exactly what the Papal Magisterium of our Holy Father invites us to do: To “co-operate, by the affirmation and witness of their faith, in the progress of Marian doctrine,” in “calling the attention of theologians and pastors” to “the mystery of the Blessed Virgin.” We obediently await the Pontiff’s final and authoritative decision on the potential Dogma. In no way is the petition campaign a “democratic” initiative. Those who sign the petition desire for the Dogma to be proclaimed, but only in accordance with the will of the Roman Pontiff.

What is the urgency for this Dogma?

The Dogma will clarify and define the content of the Catholic Faith, especially as the ordinary magisterial teachings on Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate are currently being undermined in certain quarters within the Church. The contemporary frenzy of media misinformation in the Catholic press regarding these roles manifests the dire need for the papal definition.

The definition of any dogma is accompanied by an outpouring of God’s grace, of which the Church and the world today are sorely in need. The late Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: “The papal definition of Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate will bring great graces to the Church.” In fact, this Dogma would also increase our disposition to receive the graces God wants to give to humanity since our capacity to receive grace depends upon our humility. We are humble when we honor “the means” that God chooses to lavish his graces upon us, and when we are grateful not only to God but to those creatures who freely help us.

Many believe this Marian Dogma will initiate the Triumph of our Blessed Mother over Satan, as foretold in Genesis and at Fatima. It is the key that unlocks the graces of the Triumph. Her titles are her works, her titles are her functions, and the solemn proclamation of our Mother’s titles will lead to the full release of her most powerful sanctifying functions of grace and peace for the many crises experienced in the contemporary Church and world. It will allow her to intercede with the fullest possible mediation given to her by God for this Triumph, for the Church and for humanity.

The consecration of the world, inclusive of Russia, to the Immaculate Heart was completed, fulfilling the request of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima. Why was it so important? Because it allowed our Blessed Mother to intercede in a powerful way. She respects our freedom just as God the Father respects our freedom. Our Heavenly Mother is limited by our freedom in exercising her full God-given power of mediation and intercession. We must freely acknowledge her as the Mother of all Peoples, Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces, and Advocate so that she can fully exercise these roles for us at this watershed of human history, for the many crises experienced in the contemporary Church and world. Among these graces will be the grace necessary for an authentic Christian unity and reaffirmation of the authority of the papal Magisterium for the fruit of greater ecclesial unity.

Do the signed petitions sent to the Holy Father put undue pressure on him?

This petition campaign loyally submits and adheres to the Mag­isterial teachings and precedence of the Church. The petitioning of the Holy Father is an existing practice resulting from earlier Church precedent. The two previous popes who defined Marian dogmas, Pius IX and Pius XII, both referred to the millions of international petitions from the faithful as one of the criteria that led to the final acts of papally defining the Immaculate Conception and the As­sumption.

Petitioning our Holy Father to proclaim as Christian dogma Our Lady’s unique and intimate participation in the redemption of the human family is not “pressuring” him to do so, but is simply a concrete means by which the Catholic faithful can express their sentiments. Historically, it is known as an expression of the sensus fidelium, the universal “voice of the people” or “mind of the Church,” and it is looked upon with great respect by our Holy Fa­ther today, as it was by the supreme pontiffs of the past.

Let us remember the words of John Henry Cardinal Newman: “If ever there was a case where the laity should be consulted, it would be in that of doctrines directly related to devotional expres­sion.” He added: “The Blessed Virgin is, preeminently, an object of devotion.”

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This article will begin by examining the titles of Queen Mother and Advocate found in the Old Testament Scriptures and most importantly, the Kingdom of David. It will then focus on the Queen in the words of God’s messengers. Next we will examine her roles in relation to the New Covenant and our final goal will be to demonstrate her Queenship and Advocacy in light of Sacred Tradition and the magisterial documents.

I wish to begin with a statement from an encyclical of Pius XII, Ad Caeli Reginam:

Already from the earliest centuries of the Catholic Church, the Christian people have addressed suppliant prayers and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven, both when they had reason to rejoice and particularly when they were beset by serious troubles. The hope placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ, has never failed. There has never been a weakening of that faith by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with her maternal heart over the entire world, just as she is crowned with the diadem of royal glory in heavenly blessedness. {footnote} Pius XII, Ad Caeli Reginam, p. 1 {/footnote}

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Introduction

Throughout the life of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been called upon as the Advocate for the People of God. At Cana she inaugurated Jesus’ public ministry by calling forth his first public miracle, turning water into wine for wedding hosts and guests. With the Apostles, she prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Prayers to Mary for protection and aid have been recorded as early as AD 250. Battles of historical significance have been believed to be won by her intercession. Marian apparitions have emphasized her mediatorial effect in warding off the punishment of God in response to repentance, prayer and fasting. She has been the soothing Mother to whom people turn when they feel that they cannot approach God directly.

The theological foundations for Marian Advocacy are rooted in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium. Mary’s role in salvation history was planned by God, and pre-echoes of her emergence at the fullness of time may be seen in Old Testament prophecy. She was pre-redeemed by her Immaculate Conception to become the perfect woman to be the Mother of God. Her loving, free and obedient Yes to Gabriel’s Annunciation involved her fully and knowingly in the Redemption. She is seen as Coredemptrix by virtue of having suffered with Christ to acquire graces for us, in a unique yet subordinate way. She is properly called Mediatrix of all graces, because she alone, of all humanity, helped Christ to acquire them. Her Assumption into heaven, where she reigns as Queen with Christ as King, places her in a position to help the People of God with all their needs.

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This article will focus on the second part of the theme by presenting a brief history of the pre-Vatican II Marian mediation movement begun in 1896 when a number of Catholic theologians and clergy were proposing a dogmatic definition of a Marian doctrine such as her coredemption or her universal mediation of grace. In 1921, Cardinal Mercier focused part of this wider Marian movement on Mary’s title as “mediatrix of all graces.” What had prompted their interest in this specific title? What theology supported their cause? After a short review of the pre-Vatican II history, this presentation will examine one of the movement’s theological arguments and conclude with a few comments of evaluation and lessons for the present.

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Only One Redeemer? from Mother of All Peoples on Vimeo.

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The Crowning of Mary: the Proclamation of the Dogma of the Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate from Mother of All Peoples on Vimeo.

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I am Entering These Times as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate from Mother of All Peoples on Vimeo.

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During her May 31, 1957, apparition, "the last message given in public," the Lady of All Nations again emphasized to visionary Ida Peerdeman the need that to beseech the Holy Father for the dogma. She directed all nations to Christ truly present in the Eucharist, saying, "This, nations, is what the Lady, the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate, wanted to tell you today, for the last time in public." 
—Asst. Ed.

My spiritual director had told me that I wasn’t allowed to go to St. Thomas Church that morning, nor to adoration in the evening. In addition, I was not allowed to call him that day. So I went to Holy Mass at Peace Church. All of sudden, just before Holy Communion, I clearly heard the voice of the Lady saying, "Today do what I tell you."

I was startled by that and said inwardly, "But I promised to obey Fr. Frehe." Yet I added humbly, "But Lord, Your will be done." That day I had to go somewhere by train. I just went to the station. I took my seat in the train and started praying the Rosary, as was my habit. All of a sudden I heard the voice of the Lady startlingly clear, as a command, saying, "Go back, you have done your duty!"

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In the December 31, 1951, message from the Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see "Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations," Marian Private Revelation Category), Our Lady instructs theologians that she was "Co-redemptrix already at the beginning," that it is time for the "new and last dogma in Marian history," and offers prophetic messages regarding Russia, China, America and Europe. The Lady further proclaims, "This time is our time," and calls for the prayer to be "spread in churches and through modern means of communication."
– Ed.

The Lady is there again. She looks at me with a smile, and she remains so for a long time. Then the Lady starts to speak, and she says, "Child, look carefully and listen to what I have come to tell you today. I am not bringing a new doctrine. The doctrine is good, but the laws can be changed."

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In the August 15, 1951, message from the Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see "Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations," Marian Private Revelation Category) Our Lady refers to "the dogma" that will become the "last and greatest dogma." She calls theologians to be informed that "I wish to be and shall be the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate." The Lady further prophesies, "Disasters will come, disasters of nature… I will and can obtain grace, redemption and peace for all who ask… Make all nations of one mind, let all people be one in Jesus Christ." – Ed.

I see the Lady. She says, "Today I come as the Lady of All Nations."

Then the Lady points around herself. She looks at me and says,

I crushed the snake with my foot. I became united with the Son, just as I was always united with Him. In the history of the Church, this, the dogma, preceded. (1) As Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate I stand here now in this time, in Our time. The dogma of the Assumption had to precede. The last and greatest dogma is to follow. The Sacrifice is present and shall be present in the midst of the world, in this time.

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In this April 15, 1951 Message from the Lady of All Nations, Our Lady explains her own historic role as the “Co-redemptrix,” how her image will prepare the way for a “new dogma” and how the Church will only grow stronger and more powerful through struggling for this new Marian Dogma of Mary Co-redemptrix -Ed.

April 15, 1951

I see that great bright light again. Very slowly the Lady comes forth from that light, and then she is standing before me clearly. The Lady is not yet saying anything, but looking at me with a smile. This lasts for a while, and then she begins to speak. The Lady says, “Child, look carefully once more.”

The Lady now points at the sash wrapped around her waist; I have to look at it carefully. The Lady says, “You have described everything correctly. You are on the right path. But look carefully at this cloth once more.”

Now I see the Lady remove the cloth from her waist. It is a very long cloth, and she lets me see how she wraps it around herself. With her left hand she holds one end, and with her right hand she wraps that cloth twice around her waist until reaching the left side again. Then with her left hand she tucks in the end, such that a little part is left hanging down.

“Listen carefully to what this means,” the Lady says. “This is as the loincloth of the Son. For I stand as the Lady before the Cross of the Son.”

A New Dogma

“This image will precede …”

Here the Lady pauses for a moment and then repeats with great emphasis, “will precede a dogma, a new dogma. Now I will explain it to you. Listen carefully. The Son came into this world as the Redeemer of humanity, and the work of redemption was the Cross, with all its sufferings, spiritual and bodily.”

Then the Lady moves away from the Cross, and I stand again before that large Cross. Once again those dreadful pains seize hold of me, more violently than before. It lasts a long time for me, and then the Lady, as if surrounded by a haze, places herself before the Cross. I see her double over, and then she begins to weep. Such indescribable sorrow is written upon her face, and tears are running down her cheeks. Then the Lady says, “Child!”

And now it is as if she transmits that suffering to me. First of all I am seized by spiritual exhaustion, which I feel very strongly. And I feel the same pains as before, yet not as intensely as the first time. Suddenly it is as if I collapse, and I tell the Lady, “I can’t bear it any more.” It lasts another moment, and then everything is over.

The Coredemptrix and Advocate

Once again the Lady is standing clearly before the Cross, and she says,

Listen well and understand well what I am now going to explain. Once again I say: the Son came into the world as the Redeemer of humanity. The work of redemption was the Cross. He was sent by the Father.

Now, however, the Father and the Son wants to send the Lady throughout the whole world. For in the past, too, she went before the Son and followed Him. That is why I now stand on the world, on the globe. The Cross is firmly fixed upon it, implanted in it. Now the Lady places herself before it, as the Mother of the Son, who with Him accomplished this work of redemption. This image speaks for itself and shall already be brought into the world, because the world needs the Cross again. The Lady, however, stands as the Coredemptrix and Advocate before the Cross. Much controversy will arise over this. The Church, Rome, however, shall not be afraid to take up this struggle. It can only make the Church stronger and more powerful. This I am saying to theologians. Furthermore I tell them: take this matter seriously. Once again I say: the Son always looks for the little, the simple for His cause. Child, I hope you have grasped this well and can refute all objections.

Rapid Spreading of the Prayer

“Now I am speaking to you in particular, child. See to the rapid spreading.” I say to the Lady, “How am I capable of this? I am so afraid of it.” Then the Lady says,

You are afraid? But I am helping you! You will find that the spreading will happen as if by itself. You are on the right path. This shall and must happen. The people who accept this prayer shall make a promise to pray it every day. You cannot estimate the great value this will have. You do not know what the future has in store.

The World in Degeneration

And now the Lady lets me see the world and it is as if snakes were creeping all over the globe. Then she says, “People still do not realize what a serious plight the world is in. Because people are becoming so shallow, they cannot realize how much harm this is doing to the faith.”

After this the Lady looks in front of herself for a long time, as if gazing far into the distance. Then she says,

Child, these times are the same as the times before the Son came. That is why I cannot insist enough that people, that Rome, that everyone help fight for the cause of the Son. I know that there is some revival here and there, but far from what is needed to save the world. And the world must be saved from degeneration, disaster and war. Send this prayer and image to those countries where faith has declined.

“And then I speak for your spiritual director. Tell him that he shall act. I will help, and you shall do only what I say. For I wish to be the Lady of All Nations, who wants to help the world in this time. Nobody knows which way to turn. Very well then, go back to your simple faith, and the world will again have peace.” Now the Lady goes away, very slowly, and I hear her say again, “This time is Our time.”

The preceding message was taken from The Messages of the Lady of All Nations, The Lady of All Nations Foundation, 1999.

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February 11, 1951 – Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

I see a bright light and then I see the Lady standing before me. She says,

I am the Lady, Mary, Mother of All Nations. You may say: The Lady of All Nations or Mother of All Nations, who once was Mary. I come on this very day to tell you that this is who I wish to be. The people of all countries shall truly be one.

Then, without saying anything, the Lady remains standing in her usual posture and is looking at me continuously. Then she says, “The entire world is undergoing upheaval, but the worst thing is that the people of this world are being brought into upheaval.” Then it is as if the Lady is walking along the globe and I see that the whole world is in confusion and entering into upheaval. [...]

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During her December 8, 1977, Eucharistic Experience (ecclesiastical approval, May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations” article), Our Lord grants visionary Ida Peerdeman a vision during Mass of a glittering letter “M” visible within the Light over the altar during the Consecration. As the vision shifts to a large square, throngs of people came from all directions to gather behind the symbols of a lily and an interlaced A-M. – Asst. Ed.

December 8, 1977

During Holy Mass “the Light” came at the Creed, when the words “Simul Adortur” were pronounced. It was shining over the altar and the priest and then spread slowly over all those present.

During the Consecration “the Light” was shining only over the altar and the priest, and we were in the shade. At the Elevation of the Sacred Host and the Chalice, I saw a glittering letter “M” appear within “the Light” over the altar. It radiated on all sides.

After the Consecration that “M” disappeared very slowly and “the Light” spread again over all the people present. It stayed till the end of Holy Mass.

On receiving “Our Lord” I heard “the Voice” saying:

“Don’t fear, My faithful ones, I am with you.” Addressing me “the Voice” continued: “I have shown you the ages of history. They are right in the thick of happenings.” “The Voice” stopped for a moment and said: “Don’t be distressed, see what will happen. The force of ‘the Prayer’ will have its effect. Watch well.”

Suddenly, I was placed in a large square. In its center I saw a high pillar. At one side of that pillar stood a stylized Lily and at the other side a large letter “A” interlaced with a large letter “M.” Then men, women and young people came running along from both sides. It looked like an army. One group posted itself behind the Lily, the other group behind that “A-M.” More and more men, women and young people came from all directions and gathered around the pillar. While a flag was being hoisted to the top, everyone looked at it. The colors of the flag were white and yellow and in the flag’s center I saw an emblem which I could not distinguish clearly, because the flag was hanging down. Out of the clouds “the Voice” spoke:

My armies are ready for action. Don’t be afraid. I shall gain victory. Listen well, My faithful ones, I shall gain victory.

Now all people posted themselves in front of the pillar so as to form the pattern of an enormous eagle with wide outspread wings. It was a marvelous spectacle on a grand scale. Then everything disappeared slowly from my view.

This article was excerpted from Eucharistic Experiences, Queenship, 1996.

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During her May 31, 1977, Eucharistic Experience (ecclesiastical approval, May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations” article), Our Lord leads visionary Ida Peerdeman into his heavenly garden. There, she sees the “Glorified Lady” whom she describes as “resplendently beautiful.” – Asst. Ed.

During Holy Mass, at the Creed, “the Light” came from the four corners of the Chapel and spread slowly over the altar, the priests and the people present. At the Consecration “the Light” shone only over the priests and the altar. “The Light” was like a threefold beam with one ray shining over each of the priests. Afterwards, the rays gathered again to become one “Light,” and it was as if those present were in the shade.

At the Elevation of the Sacred Host and the Chalice, “a Voice” came from that “Light” saying: “Thus it shall remain for all eternity, tell this to your theologians.”

During Holy Mass, at the Creed, “the Light” came from the four corners of the Chapel and spread slowly over the altar, the priests and the people present. At the Consecration “the Light” shone only over the priests and the altar. “The Light” was like a threefold beam with one ray shining over each of the priests. Afterwards, the rays gathered again to become one “Light,” and it was as if those present were in the shade.

At the Elevation of the Sacred Host and the Chalice, “a Voice” came from that “Light” saying: “Thus it shall remain for all eternity, tell this to your theologians.”

And “the Light” spread again over all those present. When receiving “Our Lord” I had a heavenly vision. A wonderful “Light” went ahead of me and I heard: “Come, follow Me.”

Now I saw endless space before me, and “the Voice” said: “Human child, I have shown you all the ages of history. They are now living again in the middle of them. Watch attentively and understand Me rightly: Now the Maccabees are coming forth.” And again I heard: “Come, follow Me.”

Then, all at once, I was standing before a large gate which I took to be made of bronze. “The Voice” spoke: “This one will not yet be opened, but … There is a great event in store for the Church.” And I seemed to see and feel shifts and movements behind the gate.

After that, the wonderful “Light” went on ahead of me until I came before a black gate and “the Voice” said: “An important event is also to be expected for your country as well as for other countries. Keep that in mind.”

The gate opened slowly and I heard: “Now enter, human child, come into your own era. It is the same whirlpool as in former times. I have already shown you the pictures of destruction, strife, quarrel and death.”

Then I saw all the peoples of the world and above all this the bust of a Pope. And from the sky “the Voice” spoke: “This is My command to you: Do gather them! It is a heavy task to be taken on your shoulders, but I have given you My golden thread. Accept it and you will see the re-blossoming.”

To me “the Voice” said: “Come, human being, follow Me.” Then I stood before a closed gate; it was gold-colored. I heard: “Come into My Garden.”

As the gate slowly opened, I was allowed to enter, following “the Light.” How beautiful it was there, defies all description. “The Light” that all the time had gone ahead of me, now grew even more radiant and glorious and was shining over the whole garden. I saw fine heavenly flowers and greenery. A heavenly scent was spreading and I heard heavenly music. At the back of this Garden, I saw “the Glorified Lady” resplendently beautiful. She was flooded with “Light.”

It is impossible for me to describe how I felt and what came over me. I cannot explain it better. I was allowed to stay there for a long time and to behold it all. Then everything faded away. I thanked “the Lord” in all humility and said: “Dear Lord, I don’t know why I have deserved this!” And I heard: “Amen.” Holy Mass was about to end and “the Light” slowly disappeared.

This article was excerpted from Eucharistic Experiences, Queenship, 1996.

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Recently, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued its official declaration of excommunication for various members of the “Army of Mary,” a schismatic movement in Canada. The Congregation declaration comes in confirmation of the previous rulings concerning the schismatic declaration of Cardinal Marc Ouelett, Archbishop of Quebec and Pontifical Commissioner, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., of Ottawa. It is precisely at times such as these that we must renew our appreciation for the Church’s hierarchy and its God-given charism of authority in service.

The Army of Mary, tragically, had accepted a number of heretical positions introduced by its foundress, Marie-Paule Giguère, as if they were allegedly supernatural messages from Our Lady. The obvious nature of these gravely erroneous teachings make clear the absence of any conceivable supernatural origin of these messages, for example, that the foundress is the reincarnation of Our Lady, and that the alleged seer and Our Lady make up the fourth person of the Trinity.

As is often the case in the history and precedence of private revelation, this false seer attempted to gain credibility by associating herself with an authentic private revelation, in this case, the apparitions of the Lady of All Nations to Ida Peerdeman in Amsterdam (1945-1958). In 1996, Bishop Bomers of Amsterdam gave permission for the personal acceptance of the devotion to the Lady of All Nation). In 2002, Bishop Punt of Amsterdam gave official recognition to the apparitions and its devotion. There are many bishops throughout the world who publicly support devotion to the Lady of All Nations.

At one point, Marie-Paule Giguère of Canada traveled to Amsterdam to meet Ida Peerdeman before knowledge and the ill-fruits of Mme. Giguère’s erroneous messages were known or promulgated. As Ida did not understand French, two translators were present for the one-time encounter. Primacy source testimonies from these two translators make clear that Ida sought to distance herself completely from the false seer from the event of this one meeting.

There is no evidence of any correspondence from the Dutch visionary Peerdeman to Giguère or concerning Giguère in the archives of the Diocese of Harlaam, the Foundation of the Lady of All Nations, nor in any of her own personal memoirs or correspondence. Any alleged reference to any correspondence from Ida Peerdeman to or concerning the false seer Giguère must be considered false.

Bishop Punt of Amsterdam, who rightly applauds the recent Vatican Congregation’s and Canadian bishops’ identification of the severe errors of the Army of Mary Association, has recently released an official statement from the Diocese of Harlaam/Amsterdam that reaffirms the following:

1. There is no connection between the Lady of All Nations apparitions and devotions of Amsterdam and the false movement of the Army of Mary in Canada;

2. There was no evidence of any correspondence in any form from Ida Peerdeman to the false seer, Marie-Paule Giguère. On the contrary, first-hand testimonies confirm Ida’s distancing of herself from Giguère after their single encounter.

3. In 2004, three years before the recent excommunication of Army of Mary members, Bishop Punt had communicated the complete separation of the Lady of All Nations devotions from the problematic Army of Mary movement in his correspondence to Cardinal Ouelett of Quebec.

Please find in the link below the official text of the letter of Bishop Punt of Amsterdam, in his authoritative clarification of the complete separation of the Lady of All Nations apparitions and devotion from the erroneous Army of Mary movement.

http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/070918_Army_of_Mary.pdf

Let us pray for the conversion and final reconciliation of all those involved in this schismatic movement; in thanksgiving for the inspired clarity that only the Church’s hierarchy can authoritatively bring to these cases; and for the fulfillment of the authentic message of the Lady of all Nations and the fifth Marian dogma, from which true peace and the definitive triumph of our Mother’s Immaculate Heart will come.

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The following is an account of the audience of His Eminence, Telesphore P. Cardinal Toppo, with Pope Benedict XVI, during which Cardinal Toppo presented the Acta of the 2005 Fatima Symposium on Marian Coredemption, May 3-7, 2005, to the Holy Father. – Ed.

On June 3, 2006, First Saturday of the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Eve of the solemnity of Pentecost, I was privileged to have a private audience with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. My primary purpose in requesting the audience was to present to the Holy Father the Acta of theological presentations from the 2005 Fatima Symposium on Marian Coredemption, as well as the Votum, written in Latin and signed by a significant number of cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, which requests the solemn papal definition of Our Lady as the spiritual Mother of All Peoples, Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate.

During our fifteen-minute audience, the Holy Father received the Votum and the Acta with a keen interest. He was surprised that so many cardinals and bishops had signed the Votum. He then briefly examined the Acta text and stated that he would read the Acta, and then subsequently pass it on to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for their examination, as is the expected protocol.

Once again, the Holy Father received both the Acta and the Votum with a particular interest, and made reference to his direct reading of the Acta before passing it on to the Holy Office.

For me, I was most happy to be able to present the Holy Father with the fruits of the Fatima symposium from the many brother cardinals and bishops who had assembled in Fatima in May, 2005 for the purpose of furthering the cause for the papal definition of the Mother of all peoples, Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate. Let us now commend our fervent prayers for the petition for this Marian dogma, with the confidence that Our Lord and Our Lady will do all necessary to bring this cause to its proper fulfillment, joined by our ongoing prayers and efforts.

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1. Introduction

God’s redemptive love of self-gift in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and humanity’s response to this unconditional love is the core of salvation history. In this redemptive schema, human persons at different historical stages have responded either creatively by their life and mission or destructively by their selfishness and pride. Jesus Christ, being the God-Man, is the perfect response to God’s love-gift. Blessed Mary, being the Mother of God and Mother of humanity has, of course, played a unique role in salvation history. That is why Karl Rahner rightly stated: “Christianity is the only religion that needs a Mother.” To highlight her unique cooperation in redemptive history, the title “Mary as Coredemptrix” has been used in Christian theology for many years. The title as such is highly controversial, yet Mary’s unique place in salvation history is central to any understanding of the role of humanity, and in particular that of the Church, especially that of the Syro-Malabar Church. Such understanding would help us to continue Christ’s redemptive act in today’s world of suffering and exploitation. Our focus therefore is to further explore this mystery of Mary’s cooperation in the Redemption, explaining its meaning and modality with a special reference to the life and mission of the Syro-Malabar Church. [...]

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We at motherofallpeoples.com are pleased to run this outstanding pastoral statement regarding Our Lady of America by His Excellency the Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis.

In the archbishop’s statement, he concludes that the devotion was not only canonically approved by Archbishop Leibold but was also “actively promoted by him.” In addition, Archbishop Burke notes that “other bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America,” which is also harmonious with devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, he writes.

We at motherofallpeoples.com pass this news on to you because we believe that these apparitions, so closely connected with the “Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States,” should be more deeply appreciated, not only by the faithful in the United States, but by all who seek a greater understanding of Our Lady’s call for purity and peace, in virtue of her own Immaculate Conception. – Ed.

May 31, 2007 – Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

To the Bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Regarding Our Lady of America

Dear brothers in Christ, [...]

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In this May 31, 1954 message from the Lady of All Nations (ecclesiastical approval, May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations” article), Our Lady calls both theologians, bishops and the faithful to “work and ask for this dogma. You should petition the Holy Father for this dogma.” She also explains that the titles Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate are “three concepts in one,” that is three aspects of her one role as spiritual Mother of all humanity. Our Lady then gives the seer a vision of the proclamation of the dogma by the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Basilica and states “my prophecy that ‘all generations will call me blessed’ will be fulfilled more than ever once the Dogma has been proclaimed.” – Ed.

“Here I am again. The Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate is now standing before you. I have chosen this day—on this day the Lady will be crowned. Theologians and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, listen carefully. I have given you the explanation of the dogma. Work and ask for this dogma. You should petition the Holy Father for this dogma. The Lord Jesus Christ has done great things and will give all of you even more in this time, in this twentieth century.”

On This Date

“On this date the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate will receive her official title as ‘The Lady of All Nations.’ Mark well, these three concepts in one. These three.”

Now the Lady shows me three fingers and moves her other hand around herself, and then it is as if a haze, a radiant veil, is coming about her.

“And now I let your theologians see these three concepts, these three concepts in one act. I say this twice because there are some who want only one concept. The Holy Father will agree to the former. You, however, shall help him to get there. Understand all of this well.” [...]

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So great is the authority that mothers possess over their sons, that even if they are monarchs, and have absolute dominion over every person in their kingdom, yet never can mothers become the subjects of their sons. It is true that Jesus now in heaven sits at the right hand of the Father, that is, as Saint Thomas (1) explains it, even as man, on account of the hypostatical union with the Person of the Divine Word. He has supreme dominion over all, and also over Mary; it will nevertheless be always true that for a time, when He was living in this world, He was pleased to humble Himself and to be subject to Mary, as we are told by St. Luke: “And He was subject to them.” (2) And still more, says Saint Ambrose, Jesus Christ having deigned to make Mary His Mother, inasmuch as He was her Son, He was truly obliged to obey her. And for this reason, says Richard of Saint Lawrence, “of other Saints we say that they are with God; but of Mary alone can it be said that she was so far favored as to be not only herself submissive to the will of God, but even that God was subject to her will.” (3) And whereas of all other virgins, remarks the same author, we must say that “they follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (4) of the Blessed Virgin Mary we can say that the Lamb followed her, having become subject to her. (5)

And here we say, that although Mary, now in heaven, can no longer command her Son, nevertheless her prayers are always the prayers of a Mother, and consequently most powerful to obtain whatever she asks. “Mary,” says Saint Bonaventure, ” has this great privilege, that with her Son she above all the Saints is most powerful to obtain whatever she wills.” (6) And why? Precisely for the reason on which we have already touched, and which we shall later on again examine at greater length, because they are the prayers of a mother. And therefore, says Saint Peter Damian, the Blessed Virgin can do whatever she pleases both in heaven and on earth. She is able to raise even those who are in despair to confidence, and he addresses her in these words: “All power is given to you in heaven and on earth, and nothing is impossible to you, who can raise those who are in despair to the hope of salvation.” (7) And then he adds that “when the Mother goes to seek a favor for us from Jesus Christ” (whom the Saint calls the golden altar of mercy, at which sinners obtain pardon), “her Son esteems her prayers so greatly, and is so desirous to satisfy her, that when she prays, it seems as if she rather commanded than prayed, and was rather a queen than a handmaid.” (8) Jesus is pleased thus to honor His beloved Mother, who honored Him so much during her life, by immediately granting all that she asks or desires. This is beautifully confirmed by Saint Germanus, who addressing our Blessed Lady says: “You are the Mother of God, and all-powerful to save sinners, and with God you need no other recommendation; for you are the Mother of true life.” (9) [...]

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In Ida Peerdeman’s Eucharistic Experience of May 31, 1973 (ecclesiastical approval, May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations” article), Our Lord warns his Church of the great dangers ahead, “Rome, keep watching, your enemy lies in wait,” but counsels his faithful not to despair, “Maintain your faith in Me,” and to “rally and unite in the name of ‘the Lady of All Nations.’” Our Lord further commands the nations to build a church to honor the Lady of All Nations: “Build here a Chapel for ‘the Lady of All Nations.’ This is your commission,” and promises that “the world will receive its blessing from this place.” – Asst. Ed.

At the Consecration I saw an enormously bright “Light” coming over the altar and the priest.

At the Elevation of the Sacred Host, It began to live. I had an awareness that “the Lord” was present. I heard:

“Ye, nations, kneel before your Lord, He is here.”

At the elevation of the Chalice I saw a glorious Cross hovering over it and a sort of letter “A” appeared to the left and a letter “O” to the right of it. Then I had a heavenly vision.

In front of me I saw a dragon with several heads and I counted seven of them, each with its own character. Together they formed one big muzzle, which opened suddenly and vomited something. [...]

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Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate and the New Pentecost, Part I from Mother of All Peoples on Vimeo.

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Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate and the New Pentecost, Part II from Mother of All Peoples on Vimeo.

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Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate and the New Pentecost, Part III from Mother of All Peoples on Vimeo.

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In the October 11, 1953 message of the Lady of All Nations (ecclesiastical approval, May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations” article), Our Lady speaks of the purpose for her visit: “to warn the world, the Church of Rome, and all peoples of degeneration, disasters and war. The world is living in degeneration. Disasters are yet to come. The peoples are still living in war.”

Our Lady goes on to say, “the Lady of All Nations will be allowed to bring peace to the world, yet she must be asked for it under this title.” She then speaks of the need to pray the prayer in preparation for “the great work” to begin: “Then the great work will begin—the crowning of Mary, the proclamation of the dogma of Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. First, however, let the Church and the nations invoke Mary under the new title and pray her prayer so that degeneration, disasters and war may be staved off from this world.” – Ed.

I see the Lady standing there. She says, “Mary, ‘the Lady of All Nations,’ has been sent today, in order to warn the world, the Church of Rome, and all peoples of degeneration, disasters and war. The world is living in degeneration. Disasters are yet to come. The peoples are still living in war.”

Again the Lady, with that thoughtful expression, says very slowly and distinctly, “The year 53 is the year in which ‘the Lady of All Nations’ must be brought to the world.”

For a long time the Lady stands silent, and then resumes, [...]

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In the April 6, 1952 message from the Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations,” Marian Private Revelation Category), Our Lady manifests her dissatisfaction with the removal of the words “who was once was Mary” from the revealed prayer of the Lady of All Nations. The prayer was first published without the phrase “who once was Mary” due to the intervention of the bishop. But as soon as Our Lady expressed her explicit wish that the prayer remain as it was given, this wish was communicated to the bishop and the omitted phrase was immediately re-incorporated into the prayer. Our Lady then goes on to explain the meaning of the phrase for the theologians that only at the sacrifice of the cross did Mary become “the Lady”: “The Lord and Creator chose Miriam, or Mary, from among all women to become the mother of his Divine Son. At the sacrifice of the cross she became ‘the Lady,’ the Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix… this is why I am bringing you new words in this time and saying: I am the Lady of All Nations who once was Mary.”

Our Lady goes on to say, “this time is our time, the new dogma which is to come is the final Marian dogma: the Lady of All Nations as the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.” – Ed.

The Lady is before me again. She says,

You should listen carefully and pass on what I am coming to tell you today. Tell the theologians that I am not pleased about their alteration of the prayer. “May the Lady of All Nations, who once was Mary, be our Advocate”—that is to remain as it is. This time is Our time. [...]

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In the December 31, 1951 message from the Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations,” Marian Private Revelation Category), Our Lady instructs theologians that she was “Co-redemptrix already at the beginning,” that it is time for the “new and last dogma in Marian history,” and offers prophetic messages regarding Russia, China, America and Europe. The Lady further proclaims, “this time is our time,” and calls for the prayer to be “spread in churches and through modern means of communication.” – Ed.

The Lady is there again. She looks at me with a smile, and she remains so for a long time. Then the Lady starts to speak, and she says, “Child, look carefully and listen to what I have come to tell you today. I am not bringing a new doctrine. The doctrine is good, but the laws can be changed.”

Now the Lady points at the globe; suddenly I see Rome lying before me and I see a Pope. (1) Then the Lady says,

Tell the Pope that he is on the right path. You have to pass this on, because people think otherwise. The spirit of righteousness and truth shall always reign over the world. Once again I say: this Pope is on the right path. Once again I say: this time is Our time. I will now give you an explanation for my coming. Once again I say: I am not coming to bring a new doctrine—the doctrine is already there. I am coming to bring you another message. Pass this one on well. [...]

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In the November 15, 1951 message from the Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations,” Marian Private Revelation Category), the Lady tells the world to “pray to the Lord Jesus Christ… that the Spirit of Truth may dwell in the hearts of all nations.” After stating that the dogma of the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate will be “the last dogma in Marian history” she instructs that the picture and prayer be spread to prepare the way for the dogma. Our Lady also mentions upcoming disasters, economic difficulties and wars, and gives specific messages to the countries of England, the United States of America, Germany, Holland, France and Italy. Before ending, the Lady again indicates her desire to see her prayer and image spread throughout the world, saying “tell all those who are cooperating that they shall even more, more and more, bring the prayer with the image into the world.” – Ed.

I see the Lady before me. She says,

Tell the world that I wish to be the Lady of All Nations. Let the world pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, asking Him to send the Holy Spirit that the Spirit of Truth may dwell in the hearts of all nations. Ask that the Lady of All Nations, who once was Mary, may be the Advocate.

The Lady of All Nations is standing here before the Cross of her Son. Her feet are placed in the middle of the world, the flock of Jesus Christ all around. I come in this time as the Coredemptrix, Mediatrix. I was already Co-redemptrix at the Annunciation. [...]

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In this July 2, 1951 message from the Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations,” Marian Private Revelation Category) Our Lady offers an explanation of the new dogma as well as the fruit of her mediation, which will bring “Grace, Redemption and Peace” upon the world. She adds that the prayer of the Lady of All Nations “must speedily be spread abroad. The whole world is degenerating… This time is Our time.” – Ed.

I see the Lady again, standing in a bright light. She smiles and says, while looking around her, “I am content. See to the outspreading. I have said: from here a great action for God is to begin, and all are to cooperate in it.”

Explanation of the New Dogma

“Now look carefully and listen. The following is an explanation of the new dogma. As Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate I stand on the globe before the Cross of the Redeemer. By the will of the Father, the Redeemer came to the world. For this, the Father used the Lady. Thus, from the Lady the Redeemer received only—now I am stressing the word ‘only’—the flesh and blood, that is to say, the body. From my Lord and Master the Redeemer received His Divinity. In this way the Lady became the Co-redemptrix. I have said: this time is Our time. This means that the Father and the Son wants to send the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate throughout the whole world in this time.”

Love of God, Love of Neighbor

Then the Lady remains before me for a long time without saying anything. Then, looking at her hands, she says,

Now look carefully at my hands. From them come forth the rays of Grace, Redemption and Peace. The rays are shining upon all nations, upon all the sheep. Among these people there are many of good will. To be of good will means to keep the first and greatest commandment. The first and greatest commandment is Love. One who possesses love will honor one’s Lord and Creator in His creation. One who possesses love will do nothing dishonorable towards one’s neighbor. That is what this world lacks: Love of God, Love of Neighbor.

Who Once Was Mary

“This time is Our time. All nations must honor the Lord and Master in His creation. All nations shall pray for the True and Holy Spirit. That is why I have given this short and powerful prayer. So I say once more: this prayer must speedily be spread abroad. The whole world is degenerating. People of good will shall pray every day that the True Spirit may come! I am the Lady of All Nations. This time is Our time.

‘Who once was Mary’ means: many people have known Mary as Mary. Now, however, in this new era which is about to begin, I wish to be the Lady of All Nations. Everyone understands this. Tell this to your spiritual director. Tell him that I am content with everything, and now I stress the word ‘everything.’ And I tell you, child, to do and pass on what I want. Have no fear; pass it on!”

And now the Lady slowly goes away.

The preceding message was taken from The Messages of the Lady of All Nations, The Lady of All Nations Foundation, 1999.

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In this May 31, 1951 message by The Lady of All Nations (Church approval May 31, 2002, see “Church Approves Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations” in the Marian Private Revelation Category) she emphasizes the importance of the role God wishes her to play in the Church and in the world today: “In this time the Father and the Son wants to bring me into this world as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.” Our Lady goes on to say that the dogma proclaiming that she is the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate “will be a new and last Marian dogma” and though “this dogma will be much disputed, yet it will be carried through.” For only through the proclamation of the dogma will the world find rest: “The… world… will not find rest until they lie down and in tranquility look up at the Cross, the center of this world.” – Ed.

The Lady is again there, (1) and she says,

I stand here and come to tell you that I wish to be Mary, the Lady of All Nations. Look carefully. I am standing before the Cross of the Redeemer. My head, hands and feet as of a human being, as of the Son of Man; the body as of the Spirit. I have firmly placed my feet upon the globe, for in this time the Father and the Son wants to bring me into this world as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. This will be a new and last Marian dogma. This image will precede. This dogma will be much disputed, yet it will be carried through. I have repeated these things so that you may once more clarify this to your spiritual director and theologians and refute their objections. [...]

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In the present series on the Messages of the Lady of All Nations (ecclesiastical approval, May 31, 2002), Our Lady foretells that the upcoming Dogma of the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate will be “much contested”, but nonetheless offers further explanation and encouragement in working for the Dogma with the words, “This time is our time.” – Ed.

I see a bright light and I hear a voice say, “Child, last time I came only to let you know that it was I.”

And now all of a sudden I see the Lady emerging from that bright light. She says to me, “Now I am here to give you further explanation. Watch closely and listen carefully to what I am going to say. I am standing here, and I wish to be: The Lady of All Nations—not of one nation in particular, but of all.”

At that the Lady extends her hands, and I see many different people, even sorts of people whom I never knew existed. [...]

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On May 31, 2002, Bishop Joseph Punt of the Diocese of Haarlem/Amsterdam, gave official recognition to the Apparitions of Our Lady of All Nations, declaring it to “consist of a supernatural origin” (Statement of Approval, May 31, 2002). Since the approval of supernatural authenticity by Bishop Punt, various questions have resurfaced regarding aspects of the apparitions and their messages. In the following article, the Foundation of the Lady of All Nations has identified and responded to twelve topics around which various questions have arisen in an effort for greater clarification in light of the Bishop’s statement of authenticity.

The Apparitions of the Lady of All Nations, which occurred in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1959, have enjoyed international devotion for many years since their origin. Indeed, there appears to be a special relevance to the message and mission of the Lady of All Nations Apparitions for our contemporary times.

The crucial need for unity in the Holy Spirit between all nations and the prevention of “degeneration, disaster, and war” through the advocacy of Our Lady, as prayed for in the Prayer of the Lady of All Nations, seems to be a growing imperative for today’s world under present threat of war, famine, and moral crisis. As explained by Bishop Josef Maria Punt in his Declaration of May 31, 2002: “Unlike Holy Scripture, private revelations are never binding upon the conscience of the faithful. They are a help in understanding the signs of the times and to help live more fully the Gospel (cf. Lk. 12:56, Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 67). And the signs of our times are dramatic. The devotion of the Lady of All Nations can help us, in my sincere conviction, in guiding us on the right path during the present serious drama of our times, the path to a new and special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who alone can heal the great wounds of our times” (In Response to Inquiries Concerning the Lady of All Nations Apparitions, May 31, 2002). [...]

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Ask for This Dogma

“Here I am again. The Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate is now standing before you. I have chosen this day—on this day the Lady will be crowned. Theologians and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, listen carefully. I have given you the explanation of the dogma. Work for and ask for this dogma. You are to supplicate the Holy Father for this dogma. The Lord Jesus Christ has done great things and will give all of you even more in this time, in this twentieth century.” [...]

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All Nations

I see a bright light and I hear a voice say, “Child, last time I came only to let you know that it was I.”

And now all of a sudden I see the Lady emerging from that bright light. She says to me, “Now I am here to give you further explanation. Watch closely and listen carefully to what I am going to say. I am standing here, and I wish to be: The Lady of All Nations—not of one nation in particular, but of all.”

At that the Lady extends her hands, and I see many different people, even sorts of people whom I never knew existed. [...]

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Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate (1)

The Lady is again there, and she says,

I stand here and come to tell you that I wish to be Mary, the Lady of All Nations. Look carefully. I am standing before the Cross of the Redeemer. My head, hands and feet as of a human being, as of the Son of Man; the body as of the Spirit. I have firmly placed my feet upon the globe, for in this time the Father and the Son wants to bring me into this world as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. This will be the new and final Marian dogma. This image will precede. This dogma will be much disputed, yet it will be carried through. I have repeated these things so that you may once more clarify this to your spiritual director and theologians and refute their objections.

[...]

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A Great Action for God

I see the Lady again, standing in a bright light. She smiles and says, while looking around her, “I am content. See to the outspreading. I have said: from here a great action for God is to begin, and all are to cooperate in it.”

Explanation of the New Dogma

“Now look carefully and listen. The following is an explanation of the new dogma. As Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate I stand on the globe before the Cross of the Redeemer. By the will of the Father, the Redeemer came to the world. For this, the Father used the Lady. Thus, from the Lady the Redeemer received only—now I am stressing the word ‘only’—the flesh and blood, that is to say, the body. From my Lord and Master the Redeemer received His Divinity. In this way the Lady became the Coredemptrix. I have said: this time is Our time. This means that the Father and the Son wants to send the Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate throughout the whole world in this time.”

[...]

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Three Thoughts, One Whole

“Here I am again. I have come to bring a special message. Pass on everything well.

Never has Miriam, or Mary, officially been called Coredemptrix in the community, in the Church. Never has she officially been called Mediatrix. Never has she officially been called Advocate. These three thoughts belong closely together. These three thoughts form one whole. That is why this will be the keystone of Marian history; thus will this become the dogma of Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.

And I am not reproaching theologians now as I say: why can’t you agree about this dogma? I will explain it yet again and make it even clearer.” [...]

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The Lady Appears in Public

In the morning during Holy Mass, I suddenly hear the voice of the Lady saying, “I will come today. Go to the chapel.”

In the evening there is adoration, and the church is very crowded. During the fifth glorious mystery (1) I hear the voice of the Lady saying again, “Go to the chapel.”

However, since the church is so crowded, I don’t dare go, and I remain seated. A bright light comes from behind, from out of the chapel, and goes through the church. I am terribly frightened by this. Now, all of a sudden, I hear the voice of the Lady very clearly, right by my ear. I hear the Lady say, “Get up!” [...]

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The Loincloth

I see that great bright light again. Very slowly the Lady comes forth from that light, and then she is standing before me clearly. The Lady is not yet saying anything, but looking at me with a smile. This lasts for a while, and then she begins to speak. The Lady says, “Child, look carefully once more.”

The Lady now points at the sash wrapped around her waist; I have to look at it carefully. The Lady says, “You have described everything correctly. You are on the right path. But look carefully at this cloth once more.”

Now I see the Lady remove the cloth from her waist. It is a very long cloth, and she lets me see how she wraps it around herself. With her left hand she holds one end, and with her right hand she wraps that cloth twice around her waist until reaching the left side again. Then with her left hand she tucks in the end, such that a little part is left hanging down. [...]

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The Lady of All Nations

I see a bright light; the Lady slowly comes forth from it. Now I see her standing before me clearly, and she says,

I am standing here as the Lady of All Nations, and I come right now in order to show that I wish to be the Lady of All Nations. Listen carefully. You see me standing here upon the globe, against the Cross of the Son. You have not forgotten to pass on anything. Only that the loincloth was not there yet. It was worn by the Son; say this. [...]

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Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate (1)

The Lady is again there, and she says,

I stand here and come to tell you that I wish to be Mary, the Lady of All Nations. Look carefully. I am standing before the Cross of the Redeemer. My head, hands and feet as of a human being, as of the Son of Man; the body as of the Spirit. I have firmly placed my feet upon the globe, for in this time the Father and the Son wants to bring me into this world as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. This will be the new and final Marian dogma. This image will precede. This dogma will be much disputed, yet it will be carried through. I have repeated these things so that you may once more clarify this to your spiritual director and theologians and refute their objections. [...]

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Prayer to Our Lady of All Nations

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now your Spirit over the earth.
Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all Nations,
that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war.
May the Lady of All Nations, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our Advocate!

Amen.

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The symbols of Her Majesty as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate are imprinted in the Medal of the Immaculate Conception (Miraculous Medal). Its history began in Eden. When, in the fullness of time, God created Adam out of the dust of the earth and placed him in the garden of Eden, he then created Eve out of his rib and gave her to him as “a companion” (Genesis 2:18). Our first mother, the first Eve, the “Mother of the living,” then brought death to her children and the world by her sin of disobedience and by wanting to be “like God.” She, and soon afterwards the first Adam, fell prey to “the father of lies,” the ancient serpent, once Lucifer, now Satan, who deceived them (Genesis 3:4-5).

It was then that God made his first promise to mankind when he said to Satan: “Because you have done this, I will put enmity between you and the woman; between your seed and her seed; (s)he will crush your head…” (Genesis 3:15). God was referring to a new Eve and a new Adam. It was to be Mary and Jesus in time to come. She was to defeat him through her seed, the second Adam. Eventually, in the fullness of time the new Eve was born. She was to be the mother of the man, the new Adam, who was to restore life and the friendship of God with mankind. She was to be the new “Mother of the living,” the Mother of Mankind.

[...]

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